DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, et al., Petitioners v. NEW YORK, et al., 588 U.S. 752

Summary

HOLDINGS: [1]-The Enumeration Clause, U.S. Const. art. I, § 2, cl. 3, did not prohibit the Secretary of Commerce from inquiring about citizenship on the census questionnaire, given Congress’s broad authority over the census, together with historical practice; [2]-The Secretary's decision that reinstating a citizenship question was worth the risk of a lower response rate was reasonable and reasonably explained; [2]-The evidence in the administrative record showed that the decision to reinstate a citizenship question could not be adequately explained in terms of the Department of Justice's request for improved citizenship data to better enforce the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which was the rationale the Secretary provided. The record indicated that Commerce went to great lengths to elicit the request, and the VRA enforcement rationale seemed to have been contrived.