The next front in the Census war

In what could be a devastating loss for immigrants, communities of color and the health of our democracy, the Supreme Court recently allowed the Trump administration to suspend the 2020 Census count prematurely, bringing the census to an effective end.

Abdicating the last two weeks of counting is the final blow to what has been a politically contentious, legally tumultuous process — even before the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s attempt to undermine the count by adding a citizenship question; over the summer, he sought to exclude undocumented immigrants from congressional apportionment, and most recently, tried to end the count earlier than is necessary for a full and accurate tally.

Trump has a clear incentive to dismantle the census because an undercount of immigrants and communities of color would mean a reduction in the number of total number seats in Congress for states that are more diverse (and often more Democratic), thus also affecting future presidential elections via the Electoral College. Undercounting these communities in largely Republican states also harms the communities when it comes to redistricting locally.

In addition, the independence of the census is not only about the way in which the census is conducted, but also about the way in which the final data are compiled and used. Currently, irrespective of the presidential election, Trump will be in charge on Dec. 31 when the final tabulation data are delivered, and many fear he will seek to interfere with the integrity of this data and how it is used for congressional apportionment, which ultimately also impacts redistricting. Moreover, the Supreme Court is set to hear the case of Trump administration’s attempt to exclude the undocumented from Congressional apportionment. That could go either way.

While arguably the most blatant attempt to interfere with the census by a U.S. president, Trump is not the first to meddle in these processes in this way. Richard Nixon in 1971 exerted undue political pressure over the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and so shut down the Bureau’s press conferences, fired senior staff and hired an outside deputy commissioner for data analysis because he was angered by reported unemployment data. Although reforms were enacted after Nixon’s interference, Trump’s actions are emblematic of the allure that still exists for a president or members of Congress to intervene in the census for political gain.

Trump is able to do this because under current law, the Census Bureau is under the Commerce Department, and therefore largely within the orbit of the executive and top White House officials, who have significant discretion and power over the process.

The call to depoliticize the census has come from both sides of the aisle. Following the 2010 Census, a Democratic-led initiative to reform the count to make it more independent passed the Senate unanimously but died in the House because of a procedural quirk. In 2008, seven former directors of the U.S. Census Bureau under both Republican and Democratic administrations wrote, “It is vitally important that the American public have confidence that the census results have been produced by an independent, nonpartisan, apolitical and scientific Census Bureau.”

An undercount can have dire effects on congressional redistricting and representation, and risks the next 10 years of funding of trillions of dollars in Medicaid, public education, maternal and child health services, public transit, roads and bridges, and much more. While we cannot control who will win the upcoming elections, we do have the power to institute strong reforms so that the census — and welfare of all Americans — is protected from political subversion in years to come.

There are two ways to protect the integrity of the census for generations to come.

One approach previously suggested by House Republicans in 2010 would move the Census Bureau out of the Commerce Department and make it akin to an independent agency, such as NASA or the National Institutes of Health. Alternatively, Congress could also establish a bipartisan commission that it makes responsible for choosing the census director and conducting the count.

Simultaneously, legislation must be passed that explicitly baselines and protects sufficient funding levels for the census. Census funding increased by 96% from 1997 to 1998 and then by more than 60% from 2007 to 2008. But in 2018, Congress flatlined funding for the count. While additional funds were added to the 2020 Census at a very late stage in 2019, the majority of census planning efforts were significantly underfunded.

As we wind down this unprecedented and turbulent census, it is time once and for all to bring integrity and data-driven controls to this most important democratic exercise, which serves as a cornerstone for funding decisions and representation.

Menin is director of NYC Census 2020 and adjunct professor of public policy at Columbia University.

Manhattan: It’s impossible to measure the damage from the criminals in Congress failing to get us the second stimulus months ago. My friends and I were all planning on spending that money on stuff we badly need that would’ve benefited dozens of local businesses. The delay directly killed many businesses, who should sue the stuffing out of these corrupt Dem-publicans. These crooks have unlimited trillions for endless dishonest wars, which kill our sons and daughters, moms and dads. But they don’t have money to save our economy? Total sociopathic criminals guilty of systemic criminal malpractice.

Janice Amato

Spooked

I can’t watch this Republican horror show any longer after seeing Mike Pence debate Kamala Harris in a zombielike trance. Then as Mitch McConnell debated Amy McGrath, having to watch as he giggled uncontrollably like the demented child in “Chuckie.” What’s more disturbing is watching the evil White House wizard pull QAnon and Hunter Biden conspiracy theories out of thin air, and then magically make mail dropboxes, polling stations and mail-in ballots disappear, while saving the stock market from a coronavirus panic and then boasting that he only killed 220,000 Americans in the process. Most horrifying of all is the fact that this national nightmare will never end if this lying, climate-change-denying, fascist-loving, democracy-hating serial killer is reelected.

Sharon Austry child. He was caught. My message to both of these young women: Do not have children if you don’t want to love and protect them.

Is Manish Mehta Adam Gase’s jilted bromance? After effusively praising him when he was hired, Mehta turned on him like a rabid dog, targeting him daily with over-the-top, bitter personal screeds that can only be meant to drive him out of town (which, by the way, would disappoint no one). We all know Gase is a lousy coach, and most of us (Mehta excluded) knew it from the start. Now, however, Mehta has done a sharp 180, preaching the anti-Gase line with the religious fervor of a reformed sinner. What’s the matter, Manish, Gase wouldn’t treat you like his favorite lap dog? I guess hell hath no fury like a hack scorned.

Bobby Nelsen belly laugh. This is what the press chooses to get excited about? Quick reminder: Blair is a war criminal who illegally invaded Iraq (check out the Chilcot Report), destabilizing the Middle East, sparking mass migration and the rise of ISIS. Add the 2008 economic collapse and conditions were then perfect for the usual, historically predictable rise of populist politicians, which is now playing out in the U.S. and U.K., yada yada. And his trip to the U.S. is a problem? Amanda Baker

Brooklyn: Thank you for including “Brain Busters” in the Sunday edition. With everything that’s been going on, we don’t get out much since we retired. It’s a lot of fun. Robert G. Shaw