The University of South Florida College Republicans and the Pinellas County Young Republicans this week filed a federal lawsuit arguing that improper statistical methods were used in the 2020 U.S. census.
The lawsuit, which names as defendants the leaders of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Census Bureau, seeks to require a new 2020 census report that does not use the disputed methods and to prevent use of the methods in the 2030 census.
The lawsuit came after President Donald Trump has called for a mid-decade census and as Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed to redraw Florida’s congressional districts to help the GOP hold onto its slim advantage in the U.S. House. Census numbers are used in redistricting.
The lawsuit alleges, in part, that the “use of statistical methods in the 2020 Census report means the apportionment was not based solely on an actual and complete enumeration” of population.
“By using statistical methods for the 2020 Census report, the commerce secretary and census director directly aggrieved plaintiffs by basing Florida’s apportionment of congressional districts on an unconstitutional and unlawful methodology,” the lawsuit, filed Monday in Tampa, said. “Plaintiffs were similarly affected when Florida adopted the 2020 census report as the basis for local redistricting.”