Citizens, Can We Game the Census too?

    The once-per-decade U.S. Census will ask about people's citizenship status in 2020, the Commerce Department announced late Monday. The move, which came at the request of the Justice Department, reinstates a controversial question that hadn't been used on all surveys for decades.

    “After a thorough review of the legal, program, and policy considerations, as well as numerous discussions with the Census Bureau leadership and interested stakeholders,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross wrote, “I have determined that reinstatement of a citizenship question on the 2020 decennial census is necessary to provide complete and accurate data in response to the DOJ request.”

    And this could significantly increase Republican advantages for two reasons:

    1. It might dissuade noncitizens from participating in the census, thereby diluting the political power of the (mostly urban and Democratic) areas they come from.
    2. Even without that, it would hand Republicans a new tool in redrawing districts even more in their favor.

    link

    In recent decades, citizenship was not asked of everyone in the census, not since 1950.

    The citizenship question was included on the census through 1950, and in 2000 it was included in the long form distributed to one in every six recipients. Since 2005, it has been included on the American Community Survey...

    If Republicans can game the census with citizenship questions, which may dissuade an entire family of citizens from participating in it if there is one non-citizen in the home.......can legal citizens counter-game it?

    Say you are a Democrat in a district and state that goes heavy Republican, should you decline to participate in the census?

    It would mean the district would have to be larger to have enough people in it, perhaps including more non-Republican voters.

    It would mean a lower population count and perhaps less Congressmen from your red state, and less federal funding for programs related to population.  That could be a disincentive for Republicans running the state to game the census system as a power promoting partisan enterprise.

    Of course, Republicans living in heavy Democratic districts ot states could do the same thing.

    Is there a way to fulfill the functions fo the census without using it as an every 10 year partisan weapon?

    If millions of Americans refused to participate, could Congress create a non-partisan census count, and rules on using the data fairly, would they be forced to cut out the politics?

    Comments

    The census has become more and more of a what? over the years, to the point where most folks don't really consider it even necessary - much less crucial.  Sure, we political junkies get the point, but does anyone else really care?

    Until it becomes compulsory (practically impossible) or there's some way to actually make ignoring it detrimental the number of households participating will continue to decline.  Republicans are counting on it, and it's a good bet.  


    The census leads to redistricting which is why the Dem wipeout in 2010 allowed major nationwide gerrymandering.

    Republicans are "counting" on an undercount of immigrants, legal or illegal, in cities to reduce the number of congress persons from those areas (they are allocated by total census population - not # voters).

    Households with multi-generation families may not fill out the forms even though most are legal.

    NPR said ICE can look at the Census data city block by block, and although they cannot use personal names and addresses, with the new Trump question "are you legal citizen" it could show hotspot neighborhoods of non-citizens for ICE to concentrate resources.


    Vox.com has done a link round-up on this @ 8pm

    Vox Sentences: There’s some serious US Census drama


    Far from a done deal: Census Question on Citizenship Spurs States to Join in Lawsuit

    By MICHAEL WINES and EMILY BAUMGAERTNER @ NYTimes 54 minutes ago

    • At least 12 states signaled that they would challenge the Trump administration’s plan to ask people if they are citizens on the 2020 Census.
    • Critics fear the question will hinder responses from immigrants — legal and illegal — and result in an undercount that jeopardizes voting and school districts, as well as the allocation of grants and subsidies.

    Thanks for the links. 

    Everything Republicans do is to stay in power by any chicanery, disenfranchisement, closing polling stations, sending bogus election date notices, using Russian money/trolls etc etc

    If the citizenship question is on the form I may not fill it out at all.

    NPR said the administration came out with this 6 days before a deadline with no hearings or public comments. The hope mentioned, npr, is the lack of a vetting process may cause courts to knock it down.


    What if we all just say we're not citizens?


    The Republicans would say your neighborhood is full of moochers and  rapists. ICE might start doing sweeps.


    Shame on you all! I'm reporting this conspiracy to Fox News immediately: DERANGED LIBERAL MEDIA PLOTS CENSUS FRAUD!


    I'm plotting a census Freud and plan to answer as my mother.


    Mike, I did have a Norwegian grandpa who arrived on Ellis Island in 1909.

    I guess, legally.

    I had another grandpa who, evidently, illegally came down from Canada about the same time.

    WHO IS LEGAL AFTER ALL?

    NCD has pointed out some probs with regard to citizenry?

    WHERE IS YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

    And does it pass the authenticity test? 


    Wear your grandad's reindeer antlers when you go out and ICE won't ask for that birth certificate.


    HAHAHAHAHAHAH


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