What is the Census and why is it so important?
The census is conducted every 10 years for a few important reasons. For one, it’s required by the Constitution. The sixth sentence in the constitution specifies that there will be a census every 10 years in the United States, counting everybody who lives here.
The Census results are how we apportion congressional representatives from each of the states, it’s also how we disperse about $1.5 trillion of federal funding per year. For example, the data will dictate where new schools are needed, where new roads and bridges should be built and how funds should be dispersed among programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food stamps.
Census numbers also inform statewide redistricting efforts (how legislative districts are drawn and along which lines).
There’s also a significant research component ― not only academic research, but consumer or commercial research. Decisions such as where to situate new stores or which ads to run are based, in part, on census research.
The 2020 Census timeline
Below is a brief overview of the important dates related to the 2020 census:
March 12–20: Your household should receive an official piece of mail from the U.S. Census Bureau with instructions on how to respond to the 2020 census by web, phone or mail.
March 30–April 1: The Census Bureau will attempt to count people in homeless shelters, tent encampments, on the streets and others currently experiencing homelessness.
April 1: This is the official census day when every household receives an official invitation to participate in the 2020 census.
Throughout April: Census workers will begin counting people who live in large groups, such as college students who live on campus and seniors who live in group homes. They will also conduct quality check interviews to make sure the count is accurate.
May–July: This is when census representatives start the process of in-person interviews for households that haven’t responded yet.
December: Apportionment counts are provided to the president and Congress.
March 31, 2021: The Census Bureau will have sent redistricting counts to states by this date.
Will there be a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census?
The census is intended to count every person living in the U.S., whether a citizen, non-citizen legal resident or otherwise. Over the last couple of years, the Trump administration had been pushing to add a question to the census form asking whether or not respondents are U.S. citizens. Critics of this change worried that it would lead to low response rates among non-citizens and Latinos, leading to unfair political representation (which some believe was the administration’s goal).
The Supreme Court blocked that proposal last June, stating that there was insufficient reasoning for why that question should be added. So rest assured ― there will be no citizenship question in the 2020 census.