WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined a group of 23 colleagues seeking to protect the 2020 Census against the Administration’s announcement that it will cut Census data collection operations short by one month – amid a global pandemic that is slowing or delaying many vital Census efforts. In a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the Senators write that cutting the count short by a month will be devastating to the accuracy of the 2020 Census and will disproportionately impact hard-to-count communities. Maine is currently lagging behind the national response rate; if this lag continues, it would result in the loss of necessary federal investment in communities statewide for the next 10 years.

“We urge you to immediately reverse this decision and take all necessary steps to ensure a full, fair, and accurate Decennial Census,” the wrote the Senators.

“This appears to be yet another effort to sabotage a successful Census, which include the Administration’s earlier attempts to add an unnecessary and divisive citizenship question and the recent issuance of a memorandum seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants for apportionment purposes.  Ending operations early, especially Nonresponse Follow Up, will disproportionately disadvantage hard-to-count communities,” the Senators noted. 

“A full accounting of everyone present in the United States is required by the Constitution and is critical to the allocation of trillions of dollars of federal funding and proper Congressional apportionment.  Data derived from the Decennial Census influences decisions made across all levels of government and by businesses of all sizes.  Rushing the completion of the Census, distorting response rates, and short-circuiting data assurance activities will have disastrous consequences that will reverberate for years to come,” the letter continues.

The once a decade count, which is mandated by the Constitution, helps set federal funding levels that affect everything from schools, roads, and hospitals to representation in Congress.  Due to the challenges associated with the pandemic, officials rightly extended the deadline for conducting the count to October 31 – however, in an abrupt decision, the Administration decided this week to end the count earlier as the coronavirus worsened in communities across the country. Due to the new September 30 deadline, there are only 56 days left for Census door knockers to go door-to-door and collect responses from the 37% of the nation who didn’t self-respond.

The full letter can be read below or downloaded HERE.

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Dear Secretary Ross:

We write to express our deep concern and opposition to the Administration’s decision to end Census field data collection activities by September 30 – one month earlier than previously planned.  This self-imposed curtailment of operations will have a devastating impact on the accuracy and completeness of the Decennial Census. 

The Decennial Census has faced unique challenges due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).  With field operations delayed and reduced significantly in order to help ensure the safety of respondents and Census employees, ending operations early will make an accurate and complete count impossible.

This appears to be yet another effort to sabotage a successful Census, which include the Administration’s earlier attempts to add an unnecessary and divisive citizenship question and the recent issuance of a memorandum seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants for apportionment purposes.  Ending operations early, especially Nonresponse Follow Up, will disproportionately disadvantage hard-to-count communities. 

A full accounting of everyone present in the United States is required by the Constitution and is critical to the allocation of trillions of dollars of federal funding and proper Congressional apportionment.  Data derived from the Decennial Census influences decisions made across all levels of government and by businesses of all sizes.  Rushing the completion of the Census, distorting response rates, and short-circuiting data assurance activities will have disastrous consequences that will reverberate for years to come.

As such, we urge you to immediately reverse this decision and take all necessary steps to ensure a full, fair, and accurate Decennial Census. 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.