Hands Off Our Census: Comments due November 2
The US Census, conducted once every 10 years, has an importance that is difficult to overstate. The goal of every census is to “count everyone once, only once, and in the right place". While most people probably associate the Census with apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives, that is not its only purpose. The data are used for the following decade to make decisions on school funding, disaster preparedness, public health infrastructure, roads and traffic patterns, and nearly every other facet of daily life for American residents.
There are three monumental changes currently proposed to how the census would operate:
- Many residents would no longer be counted, including work-visa holders, international students, and other non-citizen residents.
- People may be counted in the wrong place, using tax records as addresses instead of where folks actually live, who may be in a different location due to moving, college, service members, and others.
- For the first time since 1790, race and ethnicity questions would be prohibited, which would mean that the US, at state, federal, and local levels, would not have reliable race/ethnicity data.
The DRP, as an advocate for public data, has partnered with Hands Off Our Census to call attention to this matter because, as our DRP volunteers know, public access to good data is essential for the functioning of our society.
What you can do:
Comments on the proposed changes are open until November 2. There's still time to make your voice heard!. You can submit a comment on regulations.gov, and Hands Off Our Census has templates you can use. But remember: the comments that land are specific, personal, and focused. And, just to demonstrate how important these comments are: the comment period was extended after thousands of people wrote in to request more time! Don't forget that your comments matter.
If you want help drafting a comment, don't hesitate to ask on the Mattermost or send us a note. We're here to help!
