Ohio AG files lawsuit to force Census Bureau to deliver data on time
(The Center Square) – Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit Thursday against President Joe Biden’s administration and the U.S. Census Bureau to get a population count for the state in order to move forward with congressional redistricting.
The census data, which is supposed to be delivered to states by March 31, is not expected until Sept. 30 after COVID-19 pandemic delays and requests from former President Donald Trump’s administration to extend delivery dates.
U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, announced earlier this month they planned to reintroduce bipartisan legislation that would extend statutory deadlines for the 2020 Census.
Yost, who filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, also wants a preliminary injunction to stop what he called was the U.S. Commerce Department’s Feb.12 decision to delay delivery.
“Laws cannot be arbitrarily changed by administration fiat,” Yost said. “Even if it’s inconvenient, the Census Bureau must do its job.”
Ohio voters created the Ohio Redistricting Commission in 2018. The commission consists of the governor, auditor and secretary of state, along with appointments from Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate.
“The federal government has chosen to drag its feet by delaying the release of census data instead of following the law,” Yost said. “The people of Ohio have found ways to meet their responsibilities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – adapting how we run businesses, caring for loved ones, home schooling children – why should the government create a double standard.”
Trump Administration officials requested a delay in reporting in August after the Census Bureau suspended data collection last March. It eventually restarted collection efforts and planned on sending redistricting data to states by July 31, 2021.
That request led to the three senators first introducing an extension bill last September that failed to pass.
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