Friend, we are in an all-hands-on-deck moment for the 2020 Census.
President Trump has just dramatically escalated his attacks on a fair and accurate count -- with last week’s announcement that the Census will end one month early.
That's right -- they're planning to stop the 2020 Census early, with the final count still incomplete and millions left uncounted. [1]
Similar to Trump's previous attacks -- like trying to edit undocumented people out of the final count or impose a citizenship question -- this will hit Black and Brown communities and young children the hardest.
And as you're probably aware, an undercount will mean fewer public resources -- like schools and firetrucks -- and less political representation for people already on the margins.
That's what makes this latest move so egregious. Nobody believes that a rushed, underfunded Census will deliver an accurate count -- especially during a nationwide pandemic.
And, ending the count early poses a real risk of the Census results being fundamentally illegitimate, potentially forcing a costly and time-consuming recount effort and throwing our representative democracy into chaos.
That’s why Common Cause has sued the Trump administration over its Census manipulation [2] -- the President needs to learn that the 2020 Census is off-limits to his political meddling. And we are vigorously lobbying Congress to give the Census Bureau the time and resources it needs to conduct an accurate and equitable count.
But we also must prepare for the nightmare scenario -- if Trump and his cronies succeed in rigging the Census, and it produces results that systematically undercount millions of Americans.
As I write, we’re actively exploring every possible option to restore the integrity of the 2020 Census and get the accurate count that government agencies, businesses, and charities rely on.
Remember, this is part of a years-long effort by far-right political operatives to rig our system and silence millions of Americans. We’ve uncovered documents from the GOP’s top redistricting strategist that outline this exact strategy [3] -- and now, we’re fighting in federal court to stop it.
Friend, there are so many important causes and campaigns that require your attention -- for so many reasons, this year has been absolutely unprecedented for our democracy.
I’m writing to you today because I’m genuinely concerned this fight to save the 2020 Census will get lost in the 24-hour news cycle -- and that if we don’t act, the consequences will be with us for a generation.
Not only will the new legislative districts drawn after the Census be in place until 2030 -- but letting the Census become a partisan, political tool will be a defining moment for fair representation in this country. I cannot overstate how important it is that we do not allow this to happen.
That’s why we must go all out -- right here and right now -- to protect the 2020 Census from political manipulation. That means: cancel Trump’s plan to end it early, provide the full funding we need, and make sure that every single person who lives here is included in the final count.
We’re ready to use every tool at our disposal -- litigation, lobbying, and grassroots organizing -- to do it. But we’re counting on your urgent support to take on this additional work. Can you please chip in $3 or more today for a fair, equitable, and accurate 2020 Census?
I believe that when historians look back on this tumultuous year, they will correctly describe it as an era where the very future of our democracy was at stake.
But I also believe that it’s one where the American people will come together -- across their differences -- to fight for the values that we all hold dear.
In common cause,
Keshia Morris Desir, Census Project Manager
and the team at Common Cause
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/us/2020-census-ending-early.html
[2] https://www.commoncause.org/press-release/common-cause-files-challenge-to-trumps-directive-to-omit-undocumented-immigrants-in-census-apportionment-calculations/
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/us/census-citizenship-question-hofeller.html
