Here’s the Status of the 2020 Census. So Far . . .

Here’s the Status of the 2020 Census. So Far . . .

By EditorSep 12, 2020
Need a quick explanation on whats going on with the census? wondering if it will be delayed, extended or or cut short? Listen to Jeffrey Wice, an adjunct professor and senior fellow at New York Law School and head of the school’s New York Census and Redistricting Institute - explain what we know up to this point. But remember, things may be changing as you read this. https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2020/09/09/census-count-update#
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NY Federal Court Enjoins Presidential Order to Remove Illegal Immigrants from Apportionment Count

By Michelle DavisSep 11, 2020
A federal court panel is the first to decide on whether the president's memorandum directing the U.S. Census Bureau to report the estimated number of “aliens who are not in a lawful immigration status” is unlawful. The memo's stated purpose is to subtract this estimate from the total population in each state - the number that is historically used to apportion congressional seats among the states. Read the opinion here. Officials Enjoined: The court enjoined all of the officials who were party to the lawsuit from reporting the estimate in the official apportionment report. The court did acknowledge, however, that…
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What Does Differential Privacy in Census Data Mean for the Task of Redistricting?

What Does Differential Privacy in Census Data Mean for the Task of Redistricting?

By Michelle DavisSep 08, 2020
The law requires that any identifying information you give the Census Bureau be kept confidential for 75 yrs, but simply removing your information from what is published is no longer enough. Big data and powerful computing technology now allow almost anyone to "reconstruct" the seemingly anonymized information. That means it is increasingly possible to identify who you are, where you live, and other information from the census results. Here's how the Census Bureau plans to combat that. New for the 2020 census, the U.S. Census Bureau will be using a process called differential privacy to inject "statistical noise" into the…
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Understanding the 2020 Census Disclosure Avoidance Policy. A.K.A. “Differential Privacy”

Understanding the 2020 Census Disclosure Avoidance Policy. A.K.A. “Differential Privacy”

By Michelle DavisSep 01, 2020
The Census Bureau is mandated by the U.S. constitution to complete a count of the population every decade. Few realize however, that Title 13, Sec. 9 of the U.S. Code also requires the Bureau to "keep personally identifiable information confidential for 72 years." With the growth of Big Data, this privacy mandate has become a much more complicated task, thanks to "database reconstruction," a method of partially reconstructing a private dataset from public aggregate information. Consider the well-known example below of how one data scientist obtained former Governor William Weld's medical history from aggregate data released to the Massachusetts Group…
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Federal Court Rejects a Citizenship Question for the 2020 Census

Federal Court Rejects a Citizenship Question for the 2020 Census

By EditorJan 15, 2019
A New York federal district court has rejected the administration's bid to place a citizenship question on the upcoming 2020 census. The U.S. Department of Commerce, which is the main defendant in the lawsuit, will most likely appeal this decision but this just deepens the legal, financial and operational challenges that the Census Bureau must endure just under 15 months away from the 2020 census, the data from which, states and local governments will use to redraw electoral lines. NPR lists the possible effects that the current government shutdown and this lawsuit will have on census 2020 planning here. Read…
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Concerns about the Cyber-Security of the 2020 Census Elevate

By EditorJul 24, 2018
The Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at the Georgetown University Law Center has sent a signed letter to the Secretary of Commerce and the Acting Directer of the U.S. Census Bureau requesting assurances that the upcoming decennial census will be accurate and secure given heightened threats in the cyber-security environment.  (more…)
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U.S. Census Bureau Extends Comment on Residence Rules

U.S. Census Bureau Extends Comment on Residence Rules

By EditorJul 25, 2016
Washington DC - The Census Bureau is extending the comment period on the Proposed 2020 Census Residence Criteria and Residence Situations, which was published in the Federal Register on June 30, 2016. The comment period for the proposed criteria, which would have ended on August 1, 2016, is now extended until September 1, 2016. The full text of the Bureau's message is below.   The U.S. Census Bureau is committed to counting every person in the 2020 Census once, only once, and in the right place. The fundamental reason that the decennial census is conducted is to fulfill the Constitutional requirement (Article I,…
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Census Bureau to Release 2020 Census Operational Plan

Census Bureau to Release 2020 Census Operational Plan

By EditorOct 05, 2015
MEDIA ADVISORY: CB15-168 Census Bureau to Release 2020 Census Operational Plan What: U.S. Census Bureau officials will release and discuss the operational plan for conducting the2020 Census during a live stream of the fall quarterly program management review for the public, key stakeholders and oversight bodies. Additionally, the Census Bureau will provide updates on other census topics, including 2015 National Content Test and 2016 Census Test activities. The 2020 Census operational plan outlines key operations, the decisions made based on research and testing to date and a timeline for remaining decisions. The innovations planned for the 2020 Census will make it easier for people to respond and…
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Understanding Prison Gerrymandering and Its Cure: Prisoner Reallocation

Understanding Prison Gerrymandering and Its Cure: Prisoner Reallocation

By EditorApr 08, 2015
Long overlooked in the context of redistricting, prisoners are counted by the U.S. Census Bureau as residents of the institutions they are incarcerated in. The goal of redistricting electoral boundaries at the state and local levels is to create equally populated districts that ensure every voter's vote has equal weight in an election. A consensus has been building over the years that large prison populations counted by the Census Bureau in this way, confounds these goals. While the Census Bureau has not changed its counting method for prisoners, in response to growing concern by states and advocacy groups, the Bureau…
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The Census Bureau Warms Up to Prison Gerrymandering

The Census Bureau Warms Up to Prison Gerrymandering

By EditorMar 16, 2015
The Census Bureau boasted in its 2010 View from the States,” that it has listened to state requests and is working toward helping states facilitate the latest redistricting trend: prisoner reallocation. The Bureau announced that it would conduct a feasibility study regarding prisoner reallocation - counting prisoners at their last residential address, although a previous study nearly ten years go found it to be cost prohibitive. Currently, the two states that have already endeavored to reallocate prisoners have used the Bureau’s Group Quarters file, which was released early during the 2010 census cycle for that purpose. The group quarters data…
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