New York Times: Two Huge Questions Loom as 2020 Census Winds Down. “The most contentious census count in memory is nearing an end with questions remaining about the accuracy of its numbers and how they will be used in congressional reapportionment.”
2020 census
NBC News: Supreme Court allows Trump administration to end census count early
NBC News: Supreme Court allows Trump administration to end census count early. “The Supreme Court on Tuesday effectively allowed the government to stop the census count immediately, blocking a lower court order that would have required the Trump administration to continue gathering census information in the field until the end of October.”
Phys .org: American Statistical Association releases 2020 Census Quality Indicators, urges prompt action
Phys .org: American Statistical Association releases 2020 Census Quality Indicators, urges prompt action. “The American Statistical Association Board of Directors has endorsed the recommendations of the 2020 Census Quality Indicators report, written by a task force of census experts to shed light on the quality, accuracy, and coverage of the 2020 Census counts. The task force, co-chaired by former US Chief Statistician Nancy Potok and ASA President-elect Robert Santos, was formed in early September in response to concerns about 2020 Census data quality, including the lack of transparency and measures of quality traditionally provided by the US Census Bureau.”
The Hill: Judge begins contempt proceedings for Wilbur Ross over allegedly defying census order
The Hill: Judge begins contempt proceedings for Wilbur Ross over allegedly defying census order. “U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, appointed by former President Obama, initiated contempt of court proceedings during a Tuesday hearing, accusing the Department of Commerce of disobeying her previous order, Bloomberg News reported. She set a hearing for the proceedings for Friday.”
NBC News: Commerce Secretary Ross says 2020 census will end Oct. 5 despite court order
NBC News: Commerce Secretary Ross says 2020 census will end Oct. 5 despite court order. “U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross says the 2020 census will end Oct. 5, despite a federal judge’s ruling last week allowing the head count of every U.S. resident to continue through the end of October, according to a tweet posted on the Census Bureau’s website Monday. The tweet said the ability for people to self-respond to the census questionnaire and the door-knocking phase when census takers go to homes that haven’t yet responded is targeted to end Oct. 5.”
Route Fifty: Court Orders Census to Continue Counting People Past Trump Administration’s Sept. 30 Deadline
Route Fifty: Court Orders Census to Continue Counting People Past Trump Administration’s Sept. 30 Deadline. “The decision—issued in a federal court in California in response to a lawsuit brought by many nonprofit groups—marks a dramatic shakeup for the 2020 census just days before it was set to stop its enumeration. After the novel coronavirus pandemic forced the bureau to push back its original schedule, Census had planned to continue knocking on doors through October. The Trump administration later revised that timeframe, in a decision that came from outside the bureau, to expedite the delivery of apportionment data by a statutory deadline of Dec. 31, 2020. The judge stayed both the Sept. 30 and Dec. 31 deadlines.”
CNN: Constitution doesn’t require census to be accurate, Trump administration says
CNN: Constitution doesn’t require census to be accurate, Trump administration says. “The Trump administration argued on Friday against a challenge to its 2020 census plans by saying the Constitution requires a count but does not say it must be accurate. ‘It cannot be the case that accuracy in and of itself establishes some sort of — is established in the enumeration clause’ of the Constitution, Justice Department attorney Alexander Sverdlov told a federal judge in California.”
HuffPost: Senators Introduce Last-Minute, Bipartisan Bill To Prevent A Census Disaster
HuffPost: Senators Introduce Last-Minute, Bipartisan Bill To Prevent A Census Disaster. “Senators unveiled bipartisan legislation on Tuesday to give the Census Bureau more time to finish the 2020 census ― an eleventh-hour effort to prevent a potentially severe undercount of the U.S. population, particularly in Native, minority and rural communities.”
Route Fifty: ‘Perfect Storm’ Threatens ‘Major Institutional Defeat’ for the Census, Top Watchdog Says
Route Fifty: ‘Perfect Storm’ Threatens ‘Major Institutional Defeat’ for the Census, Top Watchdog Says. “A confluence of factors are threatening a ‘major institutional defeat’ as the Census Bureau begins to wrap up its decennial count, according to a government watchdog, with the risks being exacerbated by the Trump administration’s compressed schedule to deliver results.”
‘Devastating’: The Census Bureau Is About To Severely Undercount Tribes (HuffPost)
HuffPost: ‘Devastating’: The Census Bureau Is About To Severely Undercount Tribes. “The U.S. Census Bureau unexpectedly announced it will end 2020 census field operations early, a decision that will disproportionately hurt Native American tribes that are already historically undercounted, hard to reach and rely on accurate census data for lifesaving federal dollars.”
CNN: Census Bureau to halt counting operation a month earlier than expected
CNN: Census Bureau to halt counting operation a month earlier than expected. “It’s a sign that the Trump administration has abandoned its plan to extend the window for counting the nation’s population, which it earlier said needed to be longer because of the coronavirus pandemic. To be counted, households must complete the survey by September 30, rather than October 31, as the Census Bureau had announced when it adjusted plans due to the virus. The bureau will also end its labor-intensive efforts to knock on the doors of households that have not filled out the survey online, by paper form, or by phone.”
Pew: Four-in-ten who haven’t yet filled out U.S. census say they wouldn’t answer the door for a census worker
Pew (pew pew pew pew pew pew pew!): Four-in-ten who haven’t yet filled out U.S. census say they wouldn’t answer the door for a census worker. “As 2020 census workers begin knocking on the doors of millions of U.S. households that have not returned their census questionnaires, four-in-ten U.S. adults who have not yet responded say they would not be willing to answer their door, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.”
American FactFinder Officially Retired: Data.census.gov Now Primary Data Tool (Census .gov)
Census .gov: American FactFinder Officially Retired: Data.census.gov Now Primary Data Tool. “Today the U.S. Census Bureau retired American FactFinder (AFF), the primary dissemination tool on census.gov for the past 20 years. Beginning in June of 2019, the Census Bureau stopped releasing new data in AFF, and transitioned to data.census.gov for data releases formerly on AFF. Data.census.gov represents a new chapter in the Census Bureau’s dissemination approach by centralizing data access and allowing for a more rapid response to customers.”
Popular Information: Facebook allows Trump campaign to run deceptive Census ads
Popular Information: Facebook allows Trump campaign to run deceptive Census ads. “The Trump campaign is currently running more than 1,000 ads urging users to ‘take the Official 2020 Congressional District Census today.’ The ads also include an image of the ‘2020 Census.’ Users that click on the ad are directed to a campaign website labeled as the ‘Certified Website of President Donald J. Trump.’ The upper right of the landing page says, ‘For Official Use Only.’ There is a clear and deliberate attempt to make this look like a government document.”
The Conversation: The census goes digital – 3 things to know
The Conversation: The census goes digital – 3 things to know. “The U.S. Census Bureau is hoping that most people who live in the U.S. will use the internet to answer census questions, rather than filling out a paper form or providing those answers to a census taker in person, at their home. That would be cheaper – a plus for a budget-strapped Census Bureau – and could help ensure maximum turnout and accuracy of the count. For instance, databases could keep track of which homes have not yet responded to the survey, allowing census officials to target mailings and in-person visits to those locations, without needing to spend time chasing households that have already responded.”