The U.S. Supreme Court's Thursday decision blocking, at least for now, the Trump administration's plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census form sparked praise from Nebraska voting rights advocates.
"A full and accurate count of our population is critical because it allows our state to receive necessary funding for our health care, schools, child care and development, foster care, school meals, roads, rural communities and housing," Nebraska Appleseed legal director Robert McEwen said.
"The census is important in ensuring that all Nebraskans in our growing diverse communities are represented fairly," he said.Â
Nebraska's undercount in the 2010 census is estimated to have cost the state the equivalent of $1,109 per person per year in five medical support programs administered by U.S. Health and Human Services, Appleseed said.
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John Cartier, director of voting rights for Civic Nebraska, said an accurate count is needed because the state "relies upon federal funds based on the census for vital projects and infrastructure.
"We maintain that adding a citizenship question would touch off a chain reaction around our state and nation that would distort democracy for the next decade," he said.Â