Because of delays in the 2020 US Census caused by meddling by the Trump Administration, the scheduled redistricting and reapportionment of House representatives could be held up so long that it impacts the 2022 midterm elections, the New York Times reports.

Donald Trump wanted to manipulate Census information to make a calculation on the number of undocumented residents in each state, an effort to reduce representation in states with large cities that typically vote Democratic.  The Trump Administration also delayed “door knocking” efforts, shortening the time available to complete the canvas and subsequently cutting the time to process the data.

Because of the delays and interference, the Census Bureau announced that the data would not be available until September, six months after the typical March delivery date.  That’s fourteen months prior to the 2022 midterm election. 

The reduced time cuts down on the time to determine reapportionment, which also reduces the time the states have to redistrict as appropriate.  Legally mandated public input sessions in some states and subsequent court cases will further delay the process.

It will also add a level of confusion for candidates on what districts they may be representing and in what geographical areas they need to campaign in.

“The concern in some of those states is that the legislators will simply use a special session to secretly pass maps with zero public scrutiny, and then count on a tight timetable to eke out at least one election cycle” before a court could require new maps to be drawn, said Kathay Feng, the redistricting and representation director at Common Cause.