Misinformation abounds around the 2020 census

PHILADELPHIA — During this year’s highprofile fight over whether a citizenship question would appear on the 2020 Census, President Donald Trump lamented questions he said the census would ask: How many toilets, desks and beds does a residence have? What’s the roof made out of ?

But the 2020 Census, which kicks off next month in Alaska, won’t ask about any of that.

The Census Bureau asks for detailed information about homes in different surveys of a sample of the U.S. population, not in the nationwide decennial census counts. And in June, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked the question about people’s citizenship status, leading the Trump administration to abandon its pursuit of the matter. The question was decried as a way to enhance Republican political power by depressing population counts in immigrantheavy communities.

“There is still misinformation out there about the questions,” said Stephanie Reid, executive director of Philly Counts 2020, Philadelphia’s census initiative.

The federal government, local and state governments, and community-based organizations are trying to combat misinformation about the population count, which will determine the distribution of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds. It begins nationwide in midMarch. Residents can respond online, by mail or by phone.

One way Philadelphia has tried to combat misinformation is to focus on education. During one day in September, the city trained more than 2,200 people to be “Census Champions,” equipped to answer their neighbors’ questions about the 2020 Census.

“The key is people need to be very active in filling out the census and also be very active in not letting themselves fall victim to any fraud or misinformation,” said Will Gonzalez, who advocates for immigrants and people with limited English proficiency through the Philadelphia Complete Count Committee.

“We try to make it simple,” Gonzalez, who is also executive director of Ceiba, a Philadelphia coalition of Latino community organizations, said of organizers’ messaging around the census. “We say it’s nine questions, 10 minutes.” (The total time depends on the size of the household.)

The main objective of the decennial census is to count how many people reside in the United States. It’s the first question on the form. The instructions remind people to count babies and nonrelatives.

The form also asks for the name of each person living in a household, mainly so the Census Bureau can tell if a person’s information is submitted more than once — for example, if two members of the same household fill out forms.

The census questionnaire will ask for the sex, age and date of birth of each person living in a household. It asks for everyone’s race and whether they are of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin.

The Census Bureau uses these answers to create statistics for use in planning, gauging compliance with anti-discrimination laws, and for directing services geared toward specific groups.

The questionnaire asks whether “this house, apartment or mobile home” is owned with a mortgage or loan; owned without a mortgage or loan; rented; or occupied without payment of rent. The Census Bureau uses these answers to compile statistics about home ownership, rates of which are one indicator of the strength of the nation’s economy. Communities also use this information for housing programs and planning.