The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the Trump administration could halt the Census count before the end of October, overriding a federal court ruling blocking the plan.
U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh in September ruled the Census Bureau could not end its count at the end of September, but the high court sided with the Department of Justice after it issued an emergency request for a stay.
Civil rights groups and some local government organizations filed suit over the Census Bureau’s plan, fearing it would lead to an undercount of non-white voters and voters in urban and rural areas.
Only one of the eight justices on the bench, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined the dissent.
The count determines the number of House seats afforded to its state and plays a role in determining how much federal aid states receive.
After Koh issued her order, the Census Bureau leaders still sought to truncate the count, at one point leading Koh to consider holding Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose department oversees the Bureau, in contempt.