{"id":17354,"date":"2020-08-31T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/31\/census-like-postal-service-politicized-in-election-year\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:44:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:44:35","slug":"census-like-postal-service-politicized-in-election-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2020\/08\/31\/census-like-postal-service-politicized-in-election-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Census, like Postal Service, politicized in election year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 The Postal Service isn\u2019t the only staid federal agency to be drawn into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/federal-oversight\/congress\/2020\/08\/09\/postal-service-emerges-as-flash-point-heading-into-election\/\" target=_blank>a political battle in 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike the department charged with delivering mail, however, the U.S. Census Bureau has been here before. It has found itself targeted by politicians repeatedly since it conducted its first nationwide head count in 1790. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reason is obvious: The census determines not only how much federal money each state gets but also how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe census was political from the very beginning and remains so,\u201d former Census Bureau director Kenneth Prewitt wrote in an essay almost two decades ago. \u201cAlthough the science of measurement is used to complete the task as accurately as possible, the central purpose of the census remains: to shift power from one set of interests to another.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And yet some fear that this year \u2014 during a time of historic partisan and cultural divides \u2014 the scientific task of measuring the country\u2019s population is more at risk than ever of being overtaken by politics. <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2020\/08\/04\/worries-about-2020-census-accuracy-grow-with-cut-schedule\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP-Census-COVID.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Worries about 2020 census\u2019 accuracy grow with cut schedule<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Census Bureau announced that door knocking and response deadlines would not be extended past the end of September.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout this year\u2019s census, lawmakers, civil rights groups, states and cities have been engaged in a battle with President Donald Trump\u2019s administration as it unsuccessfully tried to add a citizenship question; filled three top positions with political appointees who have limited experience; and issued a directive to exclude residents living illegally in the country when drawing congressional districts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat this administration has done is unprecedented in breadth and scope,\u201d said Thomas Saenz, who heads the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. \u201cEvery decision made about the conduct of the census has been politically infected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Political interference has real consequences, said Terri Ann Lowenthal, a former congressional staffer who specializes in census issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAny time political leaders of whatever stripe question data &#8230; try to direct how data are collected, I think it undermines confidence in the agencies and the process,\u201d Lowenthal said. \u201cPeople are less likely to participate and the quality of the data collected diminishes over time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MALDEF and other civil rights organizations have gone to court to challenge Trump\u2019s efforts. They claim the Republican administration wants to exclude people in the country illegally when congressional districts are drawn in order to benefit Republicans and non-Hispanic whites. Civil rights groups, states and cities are also challenging the Census Bureau\u2019s decision to complete the census a month early, which they fear will leave minority communities undercounted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20241598937586.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"In this April 1, 2020, file photo, people walk past posters encouraging participation in the 2020 Census in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.\" class=\"wp-image-53557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20241598937586.jpg.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20241598937586.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20241598937586.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20241598937586.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20241598937586.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this April 1, 2020, file photo, people walk past posters encouraging participation in the 2020 Census in Seattle&#8217;s Capitol Hill neighborhood. (Ted S. Warren\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Census officials asked for an extension of an end-of-the-year deadline to turn in numbers used for drawing congressional districts, a request that passed the Democrat-controlled House. But then \u2014 when it appeared unlikely the measure would go anywhere in the Republican-controlled Senate \u2014 the bureau announced it would try to meet the original deadline. To do so, however, officials noted that they would have to finish up the census by the end of September instead of the end of October. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At times, the goals of the Census Bureau\u2019s career staff have been at odds with the agenda of political appointees in the Commerce Department, which oversees the bureau. For instance, the bureau\u2019s chief scientist warned that adding a citizenship question would result in a less accurate count. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s a set of very good professionals in the Census Bureau and they are dedicated people,\u201d said Steven Murdock, a former Census Bureau director in the George W. Bush administration. \u201cIf you bring in people with totally different goals for the census that could lead to real problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2020\/06\/11\/census-bureau-struggles-with-employee-communications-during-covid-19-pandemic\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/census.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Census Bureau struggles with employee communications during COVID-19 pandemic<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Regional offices have felt out of the loop as the Census Bureau plans to ramp up in-person operations for the 2020 count.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Politics have a long history of influencing the census, from determining which questions are asked to what happens with the numbers that are collected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the 1920 census, Congress failed to redraw congressional districts in response to pushback from rural districts that didn\u2019t want to cede power to fast-growing cities, the primary destinations for immigrants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the 1940 and 1960 censuses, the Census Bureau found itself in the political cross-hairs after it asked questions about income and the number of bathrooms homes had. And during the 1970 and 1980 censuses, political fights were waged over how to fix the undercounting of minorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But perhaps the closest parallel to the 2020 census is what happened in the lead-up to the 1990 census, said Margo Anderson, a historian at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After decades of criticism for undercounting minorities, the Census Bureau came up with a technical method to correct it. The Republican administration under President Ronald Reagan shot it down, however. An associate director resigned in protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEssentially, the Commerce Department went in and said, \u2018Oh, no you don\u2019t,\u2019\u201d Anderson said. \u201cIt was a bald political attack on the agency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnny Zuagar, whose union represents career workers at the Census Bureau, said the debate over the agency\u2019s politicization overlooks the hard work that rank-and-file employees are putting in, day after day, to get an accurate head count. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some workers have moved temporarily from metro Washington to far-flung states, away from their families, to work on the head count in regional offices. Others have been working late into the night every day and on weekends. Workers at the bureau\u2019s National Processing Center in Indiana are coming into the facility to process paper census forms despite risks from the pandemic, said Zuagar, president of Census Council 241.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn this hyperpolitical season, it\u2019s just like people who deliver the mail. There are actually people doing the work,\u201d Zuagar said. \u201cThey don\u2019t bring their politics to work. They are trying to do something that is very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Postal Service isn\u2019t the only staid federal agency to be drawn into a political battle in 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":53552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":38,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[38,106,31,33,9],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2938],"class_list":["post-17354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-newsletters","category-federal-oversight"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"VY6AYZWX4VE75NDZ7M5OUTYTJU","arc_canonical_url":"\/federal-oversight\/congress\/2020\/08\/31\/census-like-postal-service-politicized-in-election-year\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Census, like Postal Service, politicized in election year - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Postal Service isn\u2019t the only staid federal agency to be drawn into a political battle in 2020.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Census, like Postal Service, politicized in election year\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Postal Service isn\u2019t the only staid federal agency to be drawn into a political battle in 2020.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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