WASHINGTON?The state of Utah plans to ask the Supreme Court on Tuesday to hear its challenge to the 2000 census. If successful, the appeal would gain the state a House seat at North Carolina’s expense.

Earlier this month, a three-judge panel rejected Utah’s claim that the Census Bureau had erred in counting the populations of the two states, which resulted in North Carolina adding a 13th House seat, while Utah fell just short of getting a fourth.

The suit challenges the Census Bureau’s use of “imputation,” in which the Census workers unable to get an answer at a residence estimated the number of people living in the home based on its neighbors.