HELENA — Gov. Steve Bullock sent a letter Monday to two congressmen objecting to a citizenship question that is to be included on the 2020 Census, saying such a query would keep some people from participating.
Bullock’s letter was to Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, ahead of a Tuesday progress report on the 2020 Census.
“The federal officials who administer the Census have a special public trust: follow the Constitution, and steer clear of political games that would distort the results of the census. After all, simply counting shouldn’t be that hard,” Bullock stated in a letter provided to the media. “There is no place for the ugly, racial history of gerrymandering to rear its head again through the Census.”