The Constitutionality of Demographic Data Collection

Executive Summary

Collecting demographic data is legal and constitutional. Questions have arisen about the constitutionality of the collection and use of demographic data. This concern has been attributed to the Supreme Court’s 1995 decision in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena. Yet Adarand and the cases following it preclude neither the collection of demographic data nor its use in ways that do not result in people being treated differently on account of race.