Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida has joined a lawsuit challenging what plaintiffs describe as the “unlawful manipulation” of the 2020 census that allegedly caused the GOP stronghold to lose out on congressional seats.

The suit was originally filed in September by the University of South Florida College Republicans and the Pinellas County Young Republicans, but was amended Wednesday to add Donalds — a three-term congressman and Trump-endorsed candidate for Florida governor — as a plaintiff. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs allege that the U.S. Census Bureau counted “imaginary people instead of real Americans,” costing Florida two additional House seats.

“Our Founders made it crystal clear in the Constitution that an actual count of every person, every ten years, is used to decide representation in Congress, not flawed statistical guesswork,” Donalds said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “The blatant disregard for our Constitution and federal law by the Census Bureau in 2020 was not only highly illegal but also directly corrupted the electoral process.”

The Census Bureau conducts a nationwide population count every decade, the results of which determine the apportionment of congressional seats and the balance of political power across the country. The census has been criticized, including by President Donald Trump, for allegedly inflating numbers in blue states and including illegal immigrants.

According to the complaint, the bureau used statistical methods prohibited by law, and added millions of “fictitious college students to dormitories that sat empty during the pandemic.”

“The combined effect: approximately 2.5 million phantom people were added to certain states, most of them blue states, while Florida — a red state — was systematically undercounted,” the complaint states.

The plaintiffs are seeking a three-judge panel to review the claims and several forms of relief, including a declaration that the 2020 Census was unlawful, an injunction barring the use of the same methods in the 2030 Census, and an order requiring the Bureau to produce a new 2020 report without the disputed statistical methods.

The case names Howard Lutnick, secretary of the Department of Commerce — which oversees the Census Bureau — and George Cook, the bureau’s acting director, as defendants.

“The Constitution and laws of the United States have requirements for the Census for good reason,” Gene Hamilton, president of America First Legal, which is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement to the DCNF. “It determines representation, funding, and even how the president is elected. Representation must be based on real counts of real Americans.

Donalds added that “the integrity of our electoral system begins with an accurate census,” and that Florida voters “should not lose their rightful representation due to bureaucratic manipulation.”

The Florida representative is considered the frontrunner to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis, having already received Trump’s endorsement. However, speculation is mounting that Lt. Gov. Jay Collins — appointed by DeSantis to the role in August — could enter the race with the governor’s backing.

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