A controversial Census Bureau proposal could shrink the rate of disability in the U.S. by about 40%. Public comments on this potential change are due Tuesday, Dec. 19, but NPR has confirmed there will be another opportunity to give feedback in the spring…
npr.org/2023/12/18/121… 2. Public comments on these proposed changes to the disability questions on the American Community Survey can be emailed to acso.pra@census.gov. The bureau tells NPR they are set to be published here before the next public comment period in the spring: regulations.gov/document/USBC-…

The Supreme Court could upend how federal elections are run across the U.S. if it adopts even a limited version of a once-fringe idea called the "independent state legislature theory."

I wrote about what could happen after SCOTUS rules on Moore v. Harper:
npr.org/2023/01/22/114… A Supreme Court ruling that adopts some version of the “independent state legislature theory” could lead to more lawsuits and bring uncertainty to upcoming elections
npr.org/2023/01/22/114…

I wrote about a push for the U.S. Supreme Court to change who counts as Black in redistricting.

Republican officials in Louisiana want a narrower definition of Blackness that excludes some Black people & could minimize Black voting power around the U.S.
npr.org/2022/10/18/112… 2. A 2003 ruling by SCOTUS after the 2000 census — the first U.S. head count that allowed people to identify with more than one race — set a standard definition of "Black" for voting rights cases focused exclusively on the voting power of Black people.
npr.org/2022/10/18/112…

SCOOP: Former President Donald Trump's payroll tax delay last year left a $7 million accounting mess for the Census Bureau, which has been trying to get ~28K former census workers to pay off their debt after giving up trying to collect from ~148K others
npr.org/2021/11/05/104… 2. I deleted this earlier tweet that misstated the number of former 2020 census workers from whom the Census Bureau has decided to stop trying to collect unpaid payroll taxes. That number is 147,619 former workers (not ~178K):

I asked the office of Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. — who blocked an attempt to confirm Census Bureau director nominee Robert Santos by unanimous consent in October — why Scott said he's concerned Santos will “politicize" the bureau & not serve "in a fair and unbiased fashion"... 2. So far, Scott's office has not provided any evidence that would suggest Santos would “politicize” the Census Bureau and “not perform his duties in a fair and unbiased fashion."

Instead, Scott's communications director, McKinley Lewis, gave this statement by email:

NEW: The 2020 census likely undercounted people of color at rates higher than those of the last count, an @urbaninstitute study finds. That could translate into inequities in political representation & federal funding across the U.S. for the next 10 years
npr.org/2021/11/02/104… @urbaninstitute 2. Important to note: This @urbaninstitute study is *not* an analysis of 2020 census results & doesn't show actual over/undercounts. The estimates are based on a *simulated* census & a method for measuring accuracy that's different from the Census Bureau's
urban.org/research/publi…

NEW: The Biden administration and the House Oversight and Reform Committee have reached an agreement that could end the almost two-year legal battle over redacted Trump administration documents about the now-blocked census citizenship question
documentcloud.org/documents/2105… 2. House oversight committee members/staff can look at & take notes about docs to prepare a narrower request, but some info will still be redacted.

I wonder why Trump admin emails about the census would also mention unrelated "Department of Justice memoranda from the 1980s"?

"It's not they are reluctant to participate...they really don't understand what census does," census field manager Bob Lee tells @theNASEM Committee on Nat'l Statistics' 2020 census panel about challenge of counting one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the U.S., Queens, NY @theNASEM 2. Many seniors who served as 2020 census workers were "resilient" & did "rise to the occasion" of meeting challenges of door knocking during a pandemic and while using smartphones & other new technology, says former area census office manager Diana Cannon of the Atlanta region.

The recent media coverage about the white population “declining” or “shrinking” was misleading and maybe even dangerous. @nprviz’s Ruth Talbot and I dug into the new U.S. census data. The actual story is more complicated than what you may have read👇
npr.org/2021/08/22/102… 2. The white population is still the largest racial group in the United States. How its size has changed since the 2010 census depends on how you define "white."

One takeaway from the new U.S. census data: people's racial identities often can't fit neatly into check boxes. @connjie and Ruth Talbot of @nprviz made 2 charts to illustrate why.
npr.org/2021/08/13/101… @connjie @nprviz 2. Depending on how you slice the 2020 census data, you can get different snapshots of the racial demographics of the United States.

Breakdowns of the racial/ethnic makeup of the U.S. often don't reflect the multiracial population, which has grown by 276% since the 2010 census.

The new census results coming out today will reveal an incomplete picture of race and ethnicity in the United States.

I wrote about why the 2020 census, like every earlier count, is producing flawed data:
npr.org/2021/08/12/101… 2. While the Census Bureau says the new data is "high quality" & "fit to use for redistricting," there are many complications baked into these new race/ethnicity statistics that I've been tracking — including the pandemic and interference by former President Donald Trump's admin.

BREAKING: Redistricting data from the 2020 census will be released on Aug. 12, the Census Bureau says, after months of delays caused by the pandemic and Trump officials’ interference with the count’s schedule

https://twitter.com/uscensusbureau/status/1423351861160161291

2. The Aug. 12 release date for 2020 census redistricting data is four days earlier than the previously announced deadline of Aug. 16.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
npr.org/2021/08/05/102…

NEW: The Senate's @HSGAC has voted 10-3 to advance the nomination of @_Rob_Santos to be Census Bureau director (the timing of a full Senate vote is TBD) @HSGAC @_Rob_Santos 2. From President Biden's nominee for Census Bureau director:

https://twitter.com/_Rob_Santos/status/1422931573486366727

NEW: 15 GOP governors are calling for the Census Bureau to move up the release of 2020 census redistricting data (still expected by 8/16) to as early as this month, which would cut short the time for applying privacy protections & checking data's accuracy
documentcloud.org/documents/2097… 2. The letter from 15 Republican governors (1st reported by @ZachMontellaro) cites June 24 as the expected completion date for "nearly all of the data processing necessary for the public release" of redistricting data" — while leaving out key details from bureau's court filings.

Today, your state will find out its new share of votes in the Electoral College and Congress when the first set of 2020 census results are out around 3 p.m. ET

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW👇
npr.org/2021/04/26/983… 2. The 1st set of 2020 census results include the state population numbers used to reallocate U.S. House seats & Electoral College votes. Breakdowns by race, ethnicity, age & sex, plus pop numbers for counties, cities, other smaller areas, are part of 2nd set, expected by Aug. 16

BREAKING: The 1st 2020 census results will be released today during a 3 p.m. ET press conference, Census Bureau says, including the state population numbers used to reallocate House seats & Electoral College votes. Redistricting data still expected by 8/16 census.gov/newsroom/press… 2. Here's a link to the 3 p.m. ET live stream of the @uscensusbureau 's announcement of the first 2020 census results (including state numbers for congressional apportionment):

SCOOP: About 97,000 troops usually stationed in the U.S. were deployed abroad on Census Day, @NPR has learned. Their numbers could give states with military bases or ports the population boost needed to keep or gain House seats and Electoral College votes
npr.org/2021/04/23/989… 2. How troops serving overseas on Census Day (4/1) are included in counts used for reallocating House seats, Electoral College votes is complicated. Starting in 1970 (but not in 1980), they were assigned to states of home addresses troops gave when 1st enlisted ("home of record")

BREAKING: Alabama's the 2nd state to sue over the Census Bureau delaying the release of 2020 census redistricting data to run more quality checks. The state's also suing over use of differential privacy to keep people's info in anonymized data confidential
alabamaag.gov/Documents/news… 2. This census case could be fast-tracked to #SCOTUS if this request by Alabama @AGSteveMarshall and Rep. @Robert_Aderholt, R-Ala., for a three-judge court is granted:

Biden's pick for the next deputy commerce secretary to help oversee the Census Bureau, Don Graves, plans to "rely on the deep expertise" of career staff, according to @dgravesjr's prepared statement for confirmation hearing starting at 10 a.m. ET.

STREAM: commerce.senate.gov/2021/3/nominat… @dgravesjr 2. Here's the full text of @dgravesjr's prepared opening statement:
commerce.senate.gov/services/files…

BREAKING: The 2020 census redistricting data, needed to redraw voting maps, is now expected by Sept. 30, a senior Democratic aide briefed by the Census Bureau tells NPR. The 6-month delay allows for more quality checks and could throw elections into chaos.
npr.org/2021/02/12/965… 2. This delay, first reported by @miwine & @emilybazelon of The New York Times, is expected to be publicly announced by the Census Bureau soon.

The census schedule has been dogged by COVID-19 and the Trump administration's interference.

(Sorry for 1st tweet's typo: *data are)

BREAKING: The 2020 census results used to determine each state’s share of votes in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College for the next 10 years are now expected to be released on April 30, Census Bureau official Kathleen Styles announced during @NCSLorg webinar @NCSLorg 2. These first results from the 2020 census, now expected on April 30, are the latest state population counts used for congressional reapportionment. Styles said the release date for the redistricting data states need to redraw voting districts remains unclear.