ICYMI: Internal Census Document Warns Shortened Timeline Puts Accurate 2020 Census at Risk

Census and Data Equity News 09.3,20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tamika Turner, [email protected], 419.913.8088

ICYMI: Internal Census Document Warns Shortened Timeline Puts Accurate 2020 Census at Risk

Congress can extend the 2020 Census reporting deadlines; the administration should drop its objections

WASHINGTON –  Following the release of a new internal Census Bureau document warning that a rushed census could create “serious errors” in the data if the Census Bureau is forced to complete its count under the current statutory deadlines, Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement:

“For months, advocates have been sounding the alarm that an accurate census in every state is on the line. Census Bureau experts have been clear: rushing the 2020 Census will force the bureau to cut corners while counting people, processing data, and doing quality checks — forcing undercounts in communities across the country and skewing census data for a decade. There’s no reason not to give the Census Bureau the time and flexibility it requested to navigate COVID-19 and complete a high-quality census. An accurate 2020 Census is in Congress’ hands, and lawmakers have to act fast.”

BACKGROUND:

Congress must act before it’s too late. The House-passed HEROES Act already moved to extend these deadlines to protect the census and our democracy, and now the Senate must give the Census Bureau the time and flexibility it needs to complete the 2020 Census. 

  • Without quick congressional action, the Census Bureau faces an impossible deadline of December 31, 2020 to count, review, process, tabulate, and report 2020 Census apportionment and redistricting data.

  • In a bid to control how congressional apportionment is calculated, the Trump administration has abandoned its original request that Congress grant the bureau a reporting extension and is forcing the Census Bureau to cut the counting operation short by one month.

  • A rushed census shortchanges critical operations that count people of color, American Indians, people with low incomes, and people experiencing homelessness. This would skew congressional representation, redistricting, and critical community funding for every state in the country for the next 10 years.