This week we’re taking a break from our climate changecontent in our blogs—but we still have an excellent episode for you to listen to!You can check out our interview with nuclear power advocate and ProfessorJoshua Goldstein right here:

This week, we’re talking about one of the critical parts ofour democracy: the US Census. 2020 has brought its fair share of surprises forus, but our decennial Census was not one of them. We’ll take a quick look atwhy we need the Census and what it provides for America. If you want more info,make sure to check out our interview with Ashely Allison, which you can findbelow!

The first US Census hit the record books in 1790 to fulfillthe requirements set down in the brand new Constitution of the United States. Article 1,Section 2, provides Congress the legal authority to conduct a census andstipulates a new count be held every ten years into perpetuity. This, as the CensusBureau’s website notes, “marked a turning point in world history.Previously censuses had been used mainly to tax or confiscate property or to conscriptyouth into military service. The genius of the Founders was taking a tool ofgovernment and making it a tool of political empowerment for the governed overtheir government.”

Fast-forward 230 years, and we’re completing our 23rdCensus, pandemic-style. Why is the Census so vital that we can’t postpone iteven as states around the union are reeling from the devastating effects of adisease with no known cure and a potential death toll in the hundreds ofthousands?

Congressional Appointment

The biggest reason for conducting a Census every decade isthe House of Representatives. Those 435 delegates get allocated based onpopulation, and to allot each state the correct number of representatives, theFederal Government needsto know how many people live in each state. The Census measures the ebbsand flows of the national population, and Congressional Representatives areallocated based on that movement. For instance, models predict Floridaand North Carolina will likely see new congressional districts after thisyear’s Census.

Here is a great video from the Census website breaking downhow appointments work:

Federal Funding

Apart from governing who governs us, the Census alsodictates howstates get paid. States receive almost $900billion of government aid every year, which is divided by population. Tounderstand which states need more or less money, the government uses theCensus. The population count dictates funding for Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP(food stamps), highway infrastructure, and a myriad of other critical programs.The Census also indexes statistics like education and income, allowing resourcesto find those Americans who need them most.

The Private Sector

The Census data is available for anyone to look at, and the privatesector understands it as one of the essential datasets available to them. Thepopulation data can give businesses a better idea of where new customer-basesare, how to allocate resources, and where to open or close retail locations ormanufacturing facilities. Our economy depends on these businesses, and they, inturn, depend on the data provided by the Census.  

The 2020 Census

This year, you can fillthe Census out online or use the copy sent to your home. Filling out theCensus isn’t just another way to be civically engaged—it’s the law. In 2018,the Trump Administration announced plans to adda citizenship question to the national survey, a move that prompted a harshbacklash. Experts worried the citizenship question would cause an under-countingin America, which would have wide-rangingconsequences to communities with a lot of immigrants. Afterthe Supreme Court rejected the administration’s reason for adding the questionin June 2019, it abandoned its efforts. There is no citizenship question onthe Census this year.

With the nation in lockdown and the prospect of returning tonormal life still months away, now is the time to do your civic duty and fillout the 2020 US Census.

WORKS CITED

Baumgaertner, Jim Tankersley and Emily. “Here's Why an Accurate Census Count Is So Important.” The New York Times, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com./2018/03/27/us/politics/census-citizenship-question.html.

Liptak, Adam. “Supreme Court Leaves Census Question on Citizenship in Doubt.” The New York Times, The New York Times,

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/us/politics/census-citizenship-question-supreme-court.html?searchResultPosition=4

Siddiqui, Sabrina, and TomMcCarthy. “Trump Abandons Effort to Put Citizenship Question on 2020 Census.” TheGuardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 July 2019,www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/11/trump-census-citizenship-question-supreme-court.

U.S. Constitution.Art./Amend. I, Sec. 2.https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/Article_1_Section_2.pdf

“Understanding the CensusCitizenship Question Debate.” TBF,www.tbf.org/blog/2018/march/understanding-the-census-citizenship-question-debate.

US Census Bureau. “2020Census: United States Census Bureau.” 2020Census.Gov,2020census.gov/en.html.

US Census Bureau. “Censusin the Constitution.” The United States Census Bureau, 31 Mar. 2020,www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/about/census-constitution.html.

US Census Bureau.“Congressional Apportionment.” The United States Census Bureau, 1 Apr.2020, www.census.gov/topics/public-sector/congressional-apportionment.html.

US Census Bureau. “Uses ofCensus Bureau Data in Federal Funds Distribution.” The United States CensusBureau, 11 Oct. 2017,www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2017/decennial/census-data-federal-funds.html.

US Census Bureau. “Who IsRequired To Respond?” 2020Census.Gov,2020census.gov/en/am-i-required.html.

Wallace, Gregory.“Projection Shows Florida and North Carolina among States That Could GainCongressional Seats after Census.” CNN, Cable News Network, 31 Dec.2019, www.cnn.com/2019/12/31/politics/census-2020-apportionment/index.html.

“Why Does the CensusMatter?” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations,www.cfr.org/backgrounder/why-does-census-matter.