Tag: 2020 census

California, NY sue Trump administration over addition of citizenship question to census

The following article by Samantha Schmidt was posted on the Washington Post website March 27, 2018:

The Justice Department’s request to add a citizenship question on the 2020 U.S. Census was granted. Here’s how that could affect voting districts. (Joyce Koh, Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

The state of California sued the Trump administration Monday night, arguing that the decision to add a question about citizenship in the 2020 Census violates the U.S. Constitution. The state’s attorney general acted just after the Commerce Department announced the change in a late-night release.

The action was followed Tuesday by an announcement from New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman that he will lead a multi-state lawsuit to preserve what he said was a fair and accurate Census. Continue reading “California, NY sue Trump administration over addition of citizenship question to census”

Citizenship question drives uncertainty over 2020 census

The following article by Lydia Wheeler was posted on the Hill website February 6, 2018:

© Getty Images

Uncertainly is swirling over whether the Census Bureau will be able to get an accurate population count for the 2020 census, as the agency considers a Department of Justice (DOJ) request to add a controversial question about citizenship status to the census questionnaire.

The stakes are enormously high.

Census data is used to redraw House districts, and the number of House seats each state receives also plays a part in determining each state’s number of electoral votes. Continue reading “Citizenship question drives uncertainty over 2020 census”

DOJ Trying to Add Citizenship Question to Census: Report

The following article by Justin Elliott was posted on the ProPublica website December 29, 2017:

“This is a recipe for sabotaging the census,” said one. The administration’s stated reason for the controversial move: protecting civil rights.

Census workers Shamar Drew (center) and David Brown (right) on March 30, 2010, in Los Angeles (Liz O. Baylen/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The Justice Department is pushing for a question on citizenship to be added to the 2020 census, a move that observers say could depress participation by immigrants who fear that the government could use the information against them. That, in turn, could have potentially large ripple effects for everything the once-a-decade census determines — from how congressional seats are distributed around the country to where hundreds of billions of federal dollars are spent.

The DOJ made the request in a previously unreported letter, dated Dec. 12 and obtained by ProPublica, from DOJ official Arthur Gary to the top official at the Census Bureau, which is part of the Commerce Department. The letter argues that the DOJ needs better citizenship data to better enforce the Voting Rights Act “and its important protections against racial discrimination in voting.” Continue reading “DOJ Trying to Add Citizenship Question to Census: Report”

Census Funding Cuts Might Cost Rural America Billions

The following article by Sam Levine was posted on the Huffington Post website December 21, 2017:

“With undercounted communities receiving less than their fair share of public funds, there will be undue economic pressure in rural communities, many of which are already struggling.”

People living in rural areas, particularly in minority communities, are among those that could be most severely affected by underfunding and a lack of preparation for the 2020 Census, a new report highlights.

Census officials have long had difficulty in counting Americans in rural areas, but the challenge could be exacerbated in 2020 by a new focus on getting Americans to respond to the Census using the internet. The rural areas where people are traditionally hard to count have lower internet access and use rates than the rest of the country, according to the report, which was written by demographer William O’Hare for the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire.

Continue reading “Census Funding Cuts Might Cost Rural America Billions”

With 2020 Census Looming, Worries About Fairness and Accuracy

The following article by Michael Wines was posted on the New York Times website December 9, 2017:

WASHINGTON — Census experts and public officials are expressing growing concerns that the bedrock mission of the 2020 census — an accurate and trustworthy head count of everyone in the United States — is imperiled, with worrisome implications.

Preparations for the count already are complicated by a sea change in the census itself: For the first time, it will be conducted largely online instead of by mail.

But as the Census Bureau ramps up its spending and work force for the 2020 count, it is saddled with problems. Its two top administrative posts are filled by placeholders. Years of underfunding by Congress and cost overruns on the digital transition have forced the agency to pare back its preparations, including abandoning two of the three trial runs of the overhauled census process. Continue reading “With 2020 Census Looming, Worries About Fairness and Accuracy”