Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Against Shortened Census Timeline
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A preliminary injunction was issued by a judge against the Trump Administration's decision to cut the timeline for the 2020 census, according to Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer.
The nationwide preliminary injunction replaces a temporary restraining order that was scheduled to expire this week, Feuer said.
Los Angeles and Los Angeles County are part of a national coalition that sued the administration last month over its last-minute decision to pack 8 ½ months of data collection for the census into half the time.
"This injunction is a major victory in our fight for an accurate census count – which is crucial to fair political representation and the proper allocation of essential federal resources," Feuer said in a statement.
When the coronavirus pandemic struck, census operations were suspended for two weeks in March. The deadline was then extended to Oct. 30, then cut short a month to Sept. 30.
The census, which is conducted every 10 years, collects population information that determines the distribution of federal funding and the apportionment of representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.