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Including a citizenship question on the Census undermines the rights of eligible voters and threatens a process vital to our democracy.
I stand with the League of Women Voters and call on Congress to take action and correct this issue before it’s too late.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Willbur Ross has chosen to include a question on the U.S. Census pertaining to citizenship. Including this question on the Census will discourage participation and impact the data collected in every community across the country.

This decision is bad for the census, bad for our communities and bad for America.

The Census occurs once every ten years, so it is imperative to get the most accurate count. Every community relies on Census data — from apportioning our national representatives to making decision about public safety and neighborhood resources — this information impacts every aspect of our lives. A fair and accurate count lets our leaders and businesses make sound investment decisions that keep our communities thriving.

Including a citizenship question on the Census undermines the rights of eligible voters and threatens a process vital to our democracy. We will do everything in our power to correct this issue before it’s too late. Stand with the League as we fight back against this decision.

Chris Carson
President, League of Women Voters
learn more at lwv.org

1. Characterize the decision by the Commerce Department to include the question as WRONG – and if the question remains, it will have a major impact on the accuracy of the Census.
2. Reiterate the importance of the Census and the many uses of Census data for all communities.
3. Action: We will fight to fix this and work with everyone who cares about the accuracy of the Census to change the decision and remove the question on citizenship from the Census.

Update from NPR Tues Apr 3: New York state is leading a group of 17 states, seven cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in a lawsuit against the Census Bureau and Commerce Department to try to remove a new citizenship question from the 2020 Census questionnaire. It comes more than a week after California filed a similar lawsuit in San Francisco federal court against Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Census Bureau officials.