Thread by @hansilowang

To understand the #2020census, there's a lot of census history & policy to digest. In case you missed my #NICAR19 panel, here are corrections to mistakes I've (almost) made in my 2 years on the #2020census reporting beat to help you sort through the noise👇

2. It is not accurate to say that the U.S. census has not asked about citizenship status since 1950👇

3. Since 1970, a sample of households have been asked about U.S. citizenship status on a smaller Census Bureau survey. It was known as the long form of the census, which was replaced by the American Community Survey after the 2000 census.

4. By the way, the census question about citizenship for the 1950 census is not the same as the #citizenshipquestion the Trump administration wants to add to the #2020census.

5. Take a closer look at the race and ethnicity questions for the #2020census👇

npr.org/2018/03/29/598…

6. This is why you won't see a "Hispanic or Latino" box under the race question for the #2020census👇

npr.org/2018/01/26/580…

7. It is not accurate to say that the #2020census is the 1st online U.S. census. It is set to be the first one to allow all U.S. households to reply online. The @uscensusbureau is also collecting responses by paper, over the phone and in person👇

@uscensusbureau 8. You'll hear a lot about Census Day (April 1, 2020) soon. Don't confuse that reference date as the start date of the #2020census. On April 1, 2019, we will NOT be a year away from the #2020census. In fact, the official start of the head count is already less than a year away👇

@uscensusbureau 9. It is not accurate to say that the #2020census will count every person in the country. International visitors on vacation or work trips to the U.S. during the census are not counted. Here's a detailed breakdown from the @uscensusbureau: www2.census.gov/programs-surve…

@uscensusbureau 10. WHERE every person living in the U.S. is counted for the #2020census is important👇

@uscensusbureau 11. After the #2020census starts, be wary of reports that describe participation rates by people and not households👇

@uscensusbureau 12. It is not accurate to say that the Census Bureau is prohibited from releasing data identifying individuals WITHOUT THIS CAVEAT👇

census.gov/history/www/ge…

@uscensusbureau 13. It's also important to remember that the Census Bureau can release information about specific demographic groups at a level as detailed as a neighborhood.

@uscensusbureau 14. Here's my full tip sheet on #2020census reporting mistakes to avoid #NICAR19👇

tinyurl.com/nicar-census-t…