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The U.S. Constitution mandates a count of the population every 10 years and, while every one of the 23 decennial censuses that has been conducted so far since 1790 has been a massive undertaking, the upcoming 2020 Census will pose some special challenges. In fact, some demographers have suggested that next year’s census may be shaping up to be “the most difficult in history.”
The League of Women Voters recently took up this issue at the October Lunch with the League in a discussion led by Dr. Shamira Gelbman, a political scientist at Wabash College, and the 16 students in her special topics course on the 2020 Census.
As the Wabash students explained, achieving an accurate count of the population is important for several reasons. Political representation at every level of government is allocated based on the census count. While it appears unlikely that Indiana will gain or lose any representation in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 Census, it will affect where the state’s nine congressional district lines are drawn. State legislative districts, county commissioner and council districts, and city council wards may be affected, as well.
Census data also have a major impact on local funding and economic development for the next 10 years. Federal funding is allocated to states and local communities based on the census, which means that states, counties, and municipalities that are not accurately counted stand to lose their fair share of funding for roads, education, housing, hospitals and other programs and services. Private business also use census data as a starting point for workforce and market research when deciding where to locate.
One major change for the 2020 Census is that, for the first time, Americans will be asked to submit responses to their census questionnaire online or by telephone, rather than by mail. While a mail-in option will still be available, internet and phone response will be encouraged.
The 2020 Census questionnaire will be relatively short; it will include questions about age, Hispanic origin, race, sex, whether the home is owned or rented and the relationship of each person in the household to the individual completing the census form. While the Census Bureau did plan to include a question about citizenship, a U.S. Supreme Court decision last June has resulted in that question being dropped from the census.
All individuals — including young children and non-citizens — should be counted as part of the household in which they reside on Census Day, which is April 1, 2020.
