ACLU Comment on Census Bureau Effort to Cull Citizenship Data from State Driver’s License Records 

NEW YORK — The Census Bureau is seeking state driver’s license records in an attempt to secure detailed data on the citizenship status of everyone in the United States.

In June, the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration’s effort to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census in a challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and partners.

The ACLU recommends that states decline this new voluntary request from the Census Bureau.

Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, explains:

“This endeavor appears to be part of a scheme motivated by an unconstitutional discriminatory purpose to dilute the political power of communities of color. In addition, efforts to rely on citizenship data in DMV files have previously been highly unreliable due to poor database protocols and stale citizenship data. The Census Bureau should drop this latest distraction and instead focus on the important work of ensuring a full and accurate count.”