"We must fulfill our constitutional obligation to deliver the 2020 Census counts to the President of the United States on schedule," the U.S. Census Bureau said in a recent statement. "The key message right now for anyone with questions about how COVID-19 will affect the 2020 Census: It has never been easier to respond on your own, whether online, over the phone or by mail – all without having to meet a census taker."
. . . "Even before the onset of a fast-moving, highly unpredictable pandemic, analysts forecast strong headwinds for an accurate 2020 count. Though Congress approved a higher-than-expected $7.6 billion in spending for the Census Bureau last December, earlier budget cuts had forced the agency to scale back preparation for 2020, including outreach efforts and testing.
The Bureau has also reduced its number of physical offices and struggled to hire outreach staff, while the president's drumbeat of anti-immigrant rhetoric had many worried about further disenfranchisement of already hard-to-reach populations. (Last June, the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump could not include a citizenship question on the survey, although questions about citizenship still appeared on test questionnaires.)"
. . ."It's still unclear how drastically the pandemic may impact the Bureau's ongoing hiring of door knockers, who are scheduled in mid-May to begin in-person follow-ups to households that don't respond to the mailed invitations. Seniors, who typically represent a large portion of the workforce, may be particularly reticent because of the outbreak, although the burgeoning economic crisis may also prove a boon to the effort, as more people search for part-time work. On Wednesday, days after NPR confirmed that one census supervisor had contracted COVID-19 and was in quarantine, the Bureau's director announced he was suspending all field operations, including training sessions, until April 1.
More broadly, the tally among immigrant and poor communities, a population already vulnerable to an undercount, may be disproportionately impacted. The Census Bureau and local governments and affiliates, after spending months organizing Get Out the Count campaigns, are abruptly cancelling the in-person promotional events, as well as Q&A sessions that are critical to boosting participation. The widespread closures of public spaces like schools and libraries will also reduce digital access and shut down communication networks."
Questions this raises for me: Has there ever been an instance like this where the census was threatened? If the results of the census are more skewed because of this pandemic, are there measures that can be taken in the coming years to increase the data's integrity? If an unprecedented amount of the population is not accounted for, will the data still be used to draw district lines?
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