In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration from adding a question on citizenship status to the 2020 census. In this episode, demographer William Frey explains the ruling and how a skewed census would affect the political representation of state legislative districts, over-weighing the representation of older, whiter populations.

Frey also cautions that the decision has been turned back to the lower courts, where the Commerce Department still has an opportunity to come up with a more procedurally appropriate reason to include the citizenship question on the census. 

Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2FCkPgF 

Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple podcasts, send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.