Congress Must Address Systemic Undercount in the Census

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rafael Medina, [email protected], 202.869.0390

WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement on the post-enumeration survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau:

“The mere fact that the 2020 Census was nearly as accurate as recent counts — despite a pandemic and political interference by the last administration — is a great achievement. The bureau’s career professionals, along with national, state, and local activists, worked tirelessly to get out the count and deserve thanks and recognition. Yet, similar to previous censuses, a systemic undercount persists for Black and Hispanic communities, American Indian and Alaskan Native populations living on reservations, and children. We call on the bureau to work with stakeholders to fundamentally rethink its operations as to how people are counted in order to ensure no one is ever missed in the census. And we call on Congress to ensure that the bureau has the resources to conduct the necessary research and planning activities for a fair and accurate count.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 230 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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