Trevor Ramsey
03.07 Checks, Balances, and Accountability
PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE TEMPLATE
Select a political topic or policy to research of local, state, and/or national interest.
1. Research your selected policy issue. In at least one well-written paragraph, summarize the
issue. Be sure to include:
what the issue is
who it affects
varied public perspectives on the issue
The selected policy issue I have chosen to discuss is citizenship status in the US Census.
President Trump has issued an executive order for federal agencies turn over all the
information they have on people’s citizenship and immigration status to the Census Bureau.
The Trump administration wants to use this data in order to draw electoral maps that are
based on legal citizens rather than the total population within the states. If the question of
citizenship were to be taken into account in the US Census, then state legislators would use
this information to manipulate boundaries that include a majority of ineligible voters, whose
votes will not matter in the federal elections, leaving more representation for those whose
votes do play a role. This greatly affects both the executive branch and the US citizens. The
federal government would favor this act of gerrymandering in order to favor their political
party gaining favor in the upcoming elections; however, this would result in great
underrepresentation of the American people and illegal citizens would not participate in the
US Census. Many Americans and congressional members are not in favor of this action due
to the lack of fairness in representation that would come of this policy.
This study source was downloaded by 100000858936669 from CourseHero.com on 01-19-2023 03:02:14 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/43821598/0307-Checks-Balances-and-Accountabilitydoc/
, Trevor Ramsey
2. In at least one well-written paragraph, describe government action on the issue. Be sure to
include:
actions that have been taken on the policy issue, including legislation and executive
actions
how the branches of government, bureaucracy, and interest groups interact in forming
policy around the issue
Government action on this policy has been minimal. The first action taken was that Trump
issued an executive order requiring that federal agencies turn over all the information they
have on people’s citizenship and immigration status to the Census Bureau. Currently, states
draw electoral maps based on total population; however, if detailed data about citizenship
became available, legislators in some states would draw their maps based on the number of
citizens or eligible voters. The Supreme Court ruled decades ago that the distribution of
congressional seats must be based on total population, but it has yet to rule on whether
states are allowed to base their maps on the number of citizens, or what kind of data they
could use to do it. The court in 2016 ultimately rejected the idea that redistricting using
eligible voters should be mandatory but sidestepped whether states could do it voluntarily,
leaving the door open for a future case. The branches of government (legislative and
executive) are currently at opposing ends of the spectrum regarding this debate, with the
legislative taking action to best represent the fairness of the people, and the executive trying
to secure seats by the process of gerrymandering. No actions have been brought forth by
the bureaucracy, and few interest groups have spoken discussing the matter. Most groups
have argued in favor with the legislative branch; the most prominent group being the ACLU,
which has continued to press President Trump with accusations at executive hearings and
on the media.
This study source was downloaded by 100000858936669 from CourseHero.com on 01-19-2023 03:02:14 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/43821598/0307-Checks-Balances-and-Accountabilitydoc/
03.07 Checks, Balances, and Accountability
PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE TEMPLATE
Select a political topic or policy to research of local, state, and/or national interest.
1. Research your selected policy issue. In at least one well-written paragraph, summarize the
issue. Be sure to include:
what the issue is
who it affects
varied public perspectives on the issue
The selected policy issue I have chosen to discuss is citizenship status in the US Census.
President Trump has issued an executive order for federal agencies turn over all the
information they have on people’s citizenship and immigration status to the Census Bureau.
The Trump administration wants to use this data in order to draw electoral maps that are
based on legal citizens rather than the total population within the states. If the question of
citizenship were to be taken into account in the US Census, then state legislators would use
this information to manipulate boundaries that include a majority of ineligible voters, whose
votes will not matter in the federal elections, leaving more representation for those whose
votes do play a role. This greatly affects both the executive branch and the US citizens. The
federal government would favor this act of gerrymandering in order to favor their political
party gaining favor in the upcoming elections; however, this would result in great
underrepresentation of the American people and illegal citizens would not participate in the
US Census. Many Americans and congressional members are not in favor of this action due
to the lack of fairness in representation that would come of this policy.
This study source was downloaded by 100000858936669 from CourseHero.com on 01-19-2023 03:02:14 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/43821598/0307-Checks-Balances-and-Accountabilitydoc/
, Trevor Ramsey
2. In at least one well-written paragraph, describe government action on the issue. Be sure to
include:
actions that have been taken on the policy issue, including legislation and executive
actions
how the branches of government, bureaucracy, and interest groups interact in forming
policy around the issue
Government action on this policy has been minimal. The first action taken was that Trump
issued an executive order requiring that federal agencies turn over all the information they
have on people’s citizenship and immigration status to the Census Bureau. Currently, states
draw electoral maps based on total population; however, if detailed data about citizenship
became available, legislators in some states would draw their maps based on the number of
citizens or eligible voters. The Supreme Court ruled decades ago that the distribution of
congressional seats must be based on total population, but it has yet to rule on whether
states are allowed to base their maps on the number of citizens, or what kind of data they
could use to do it. The court in 2016 ultimately rejected the idea that redistricting using
eligible voters should be mandatory but sidestepped whether states could do it voluntarily,
leaving the door open for a future case. The branches of government (legislative and
executive) are currently at opposing ends of the spectrum regarding this debate, with the
legislative taking action to best represent the fairness of the people, and the executive trying
to secure seats by the process of gerrymandering. No actions have been brought forth by
the bureaucracy, and few interest groups have spoken discussing the matter. Most groups
have argued in favor with the legislative branch; the most prominent group being the ACLU,
which has continued to press President Trump with accusations at executive hearings and
on the media.
This study source was downloaded by 100000858936669 from CourseHero.com on 01-19-2023 03:02:14 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/43821598/0307-Checks-Balances-and-Accountabilitydoc/
