Washington (CNN) The Supreme Court has declined to postpone Monday's scheduled start of a trial challenging the Trump administration's decision to reinstate a citizenship question on the census.

The Justice Department asked for the delay while the justices consider a separate motion asking them to limit evidence at trial, but the court on Friday refused.

The vote tally was not announced, and justices do not have to publicly reveal how they vote on such orders, but Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have granted the request to delay the trial. It would have taken five votes to grant the administration's request.

Last March, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who has jurisdiction over the census, announced the reinstatement of the citizenship question on the 2020 questionnaire. At the time, Ross said the Justice Department requested the change in part because the information would be useful for its enforcement of the Voting Rights Act.

Ross acknowledged that adding the question might impact response rates but that his concerns were outweighed by the prospect of more complete and accurate data.

Read More