Census battle: How this lawsuit could change political power in Congress

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

A federal lawsuit could be decided in early 2026 to require the Census Bureau to only count people rather than use statistical sampling—a move that could determine who controls Congress.

The 2020 Census overcounted the population of several Democrat-leaning states and undercounted the population of several Republican-leaning states.

While the agency admitted this was an error, plaintiffs in the case of University of South Florida College Republicans et al.