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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for February 21, 2019

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By Scott Rasmussen

The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

February 21, 2019: Seventy-eight percent (78%) of voters nationwide believe it’s appropriate for the U.S. Census Bureau to ask residents if they are citizens of the United States. A ScottRasmussen.com national survey found that 14% disagree and 8% are not sure.[1]

That view is held by a solid majority of every measured demographic group. Ninety-two percent (92%) of Republicans believe the question is appropriate. So do 79% of independent voters and 67% of Democrats.

However, several states and cities are suing the federal government to prevent a question about citizenship from being asked on the 2020 census.[2] Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and issue a ruling.[3]

Among many other purposes, census data is used to determine the number of congressional districts allocated to each state. The more people a state has, the more districts it is allocated. For determining congressional representation, 24% of voters believe that only citizens should be included in the population count. Another 40% believe that both citizens and legal residents should be counted. Finally, 28% believe that illegal immigrants should be counted when it comes to determining congressional representation.


Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.


Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.

The Number of the Day is broadcast on local stations across the country. An archive of these broadcasts can be found here.

Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

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