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Lessons for the US from Austalia’s #censusfail

04.18.19

BY ISABELLA BORSHOFF Most statisticians will only ever light up the Twittersphere in their wildest dreams. But for census staff at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), those dreams became a nightmarish reality as the country’s first digital census bombed spectacularly, earning its own hashtag, #censusfail. Every five years, Australians sit down on a designated […]

How the Citizenship Question Makes Vulnerable Populations Less Likely to be Counted

04.18.19

A Q&A with Esperanza Guevara of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights In March 2018, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose department administers the decennial United States census, announced he would include a question on the 2020 Census asking, for the first time since 1950: “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” The question […]

The Benefits of the Census Bureau: A Research Perspective

04.17.19

BY NICK BUFFIE The U.S. Census Bureau is facing a series of challenges this time around – insufficient funding, a new online component, and an administration that is unwelcoming to diversity. In particular, the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress have become the newest members of the mole brigade – politicians determined to avoid seeing […]

The 2020 Census: Facing a ‘perfect storm?’

04.17.19

BY TERRI ANN LOWENTHAL Every U.S. census faces challenges and controversies; counting a mobile, growing, and increasingly diverse “nation of immigrants” — not to mention a displaced Native population and enslaved peoples at various points in our history — was always destined to be a complex, imperfect effort. Fortunately, the census has gotten more accurate […]

Why the digital divide could affect the accuracy of the 2020 census

04.16.19

BY AMY ROBINSON The U.S. Census is entering the digital age. If you can order groceries online and find the love of your life, why not fill out an online survey that promotes the health of our democracy? Foregoing the traditional paper and pencil mode of data collection makes sense, as it is no longer […]

Science, Technology and Data

Why an Accurate 2020 Census Matters: Money, Power and Truth

04.15.19

BY  KYLA FULLENWIDER Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three […]

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