Federal Judges Dismiss Utah’s Census Case
A three-judge federal panel on Tuesday dismissed Utah’s complaint that it lost a congressional seat because the Census Bureau did not count Utah residents who are Mormon missionaries overseas.
The judges in a unanimous ruling said the missionaries represent only a fraction of Americans living overseas and that counting them would give Utah a huge advantage over other states.
Utah had claimed its count should have included 11,176 state residents on proselytizing missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Census Bureau has estimated that 5 million Americans live abroad.
The judges also rejected Utah’s complaint alleging that the Census Bureau uses guesswork to count all Americans and that the state was the victim of religious discrimination.
Utah officials had vowed to appeal an adverse decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Tuesday, Atty. Gen. Mark Shurtleff indicated that’s what he will do.
“I believe we owe it to the people of Utah to take their case to the highest court,” he said.
The 2000 census count left Utah 857 residents shy of gaining a fourth congressional seat; that seat instead became North Carolina’s 13th.
North Carolina Atty. Gen. Roy Cooper said he was pleased with Tuesday’s decision.
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