California Initiative, Requiring a Public Vote on Whether California Should Become an Independent Country, Begins to Circulate

On September 10, California’s Secretary of State cleared an initiative for circulation. It needs 623,212 signatures in the next six months. It asks voters if California should seek to become an independent country. If it gets at least 55%, then it sets up a Commission to study the issue.

President Trump Loses Lawsuit Over Counting Non-Citizens in the Census for Reapportionment

On September 10, a 3-judge U.S. District Court issued an 82-page opinion, determining that President Trump’s order not to include non-citizens in the Census count for reapportionment purposes is unconstitutional. The presidential order had been promulgated in July 2020. State of New York v Trump, s.d., 1:20cv-5770.

The Fourteenth Amendment, section two, says, “Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.”