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BREAKING: Census Bureau confirms all #2020Census counting efforts will be cut a month short, risking a severe undercount of people of color. Collecting responses online, over the phone & by mail, plus door knocking at unresponsive homes, to end on Sept. 30 https://www.npr.org/2020/08/03/898548910/census-cut-short-a-month-rushes-to-finish-all-counting-efforts-by-sept-30
2. Here is the key section of the statement from Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham confirming Sept. 30 as the new end date for all #2020Census counting efforts (full statement here:
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/delivering-complete-accurate-count.html):
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/delivering-complete-accurate-count.html):
3. Bureau's announcement comes after @NPR first reported #2020Census door-knocking efforts were being cut short. In-person interviews with unresponsive households started last month in some parts of U.S. and are set to expand nationwide on Aug. 11. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/30/896656747/when-does-census-counting-end-bureau-sends-alarming-mixed-signals
4. This last-minute change to end on Sept. 30 & cut short counting for the constitutionally mandated count of every person living in the U.S. threatens the accuracy of numbers used to determine the distribution of political representation & federal funding for the next decade.
5. With roughly 4 out of 10 households nationwide yet to be counted and already delayed by the pandemic, the bureau now has less than 2 months left to try to reach historically undercounted groups who are not likely to fill out a #2020Census form on their own.
6. The Census Bureau's webpage for its #2020Census schedule has been updated with Sept. 30 as the new end date for self-response and door knocking:
https://2020census.gov/en/news-events/operational-adjustments-covid-19.html?#
https://2020census.gov/en/news-events/operational-adjustments-covid-19.html?#
