The Daily Fuckup

A federal appeals panel on May 18, 2021 revived Ohio’s lawsuit over delayed census data and sent the case back to district court. The judges did not draw district lines, approve a map, or decide where any congressional seat should land. They said Ohio had standing to keep suing and left the next step to the trial court. ([opn.ca6.uscourts.gov](https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/21a0245n-06.pdf))

The case turned on timing. Under federal law, the Census Bureau was supposed to deliver population data by April 1, 2021, and Ohio said it needed that information to redraw its state and federal voting districts. The state sued after the bureau pushed back release of the detailed numbers used for redistricting. The district court threw the case out, but the Sixth Circuit reversed, saying Ohio had shown injury, traceability and redressability. ([opn.ca6.uscourts.gov](https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/21a0245n-06.pdf))

In its short order, the panel said Ohio’s injury was informational: the state had not received the data when the Census Act said it should. The judges also noted that the bureau said it could provide Ohio’s data in a legacy format by August 16, 2021, and said the district court should move quickly and hold a hearing on any remedy. That was a procedural win for Ohio, not a ruling on the substance of any redistricting plan. ([opn.ca6.uscourts.gov](https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/21a0245n-06.pdf))

Ohio officials later said they reached a settlement with the Census Bureau under which the agency would release the population data relevant to redistricting by August 16. The legal fight was about whether the state could force earlier access to the numbers, not about the shape of Ohio’s districts themselves. ([ohioattorneygeneral.gov](https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/May-2021/AG-Yost-Secures-Victory-for-Ohioans-in-Settlement))