WASHINGTON _ The U.S. Supreme Court let President Donald Trump's administration end the census count more than two weeks early, dealing a blow to civil rights groups that said minorities will be undercounted as a result.
The justices, without explanation, blocked a federal trial court ruling that had required the decennial count to continue through the end of October. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented.
The Census Bureau reported on Tuesday that as of the day before, 99.9% of housing units have been accounted for so far in the 2020 census, with 33.1% counted by census takers and other field data collection operations, and 66.8% of housing units responding online, by phone or by mail.
The administration said it needs to stop counting now so it can meet at Dec. 31 statutory deadline for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to send a report to the president. The administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene after being rejected by a San Francisco-based federal appeals court.
A census undercount would mean that affected groups get less political representation and fewer federal dollars than they otherwise could.
The Supreme Court is separately considering how to handle Trump's bid to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count. The justices could say as soon as Friday whether they will hear arguments on Trump's appeal.
