Proposed 2030 Census Rule Workshop: How to Take Action

Have you ever wondered what that nice person from the Census Bureau who comes calling every 10 years does with all the information they collect? Well, the simple answer is that it does two things: 1.) it determines how many Representatives you have in Congress and in the Electoral College, and 2.) it feeds into all levels of Federal funding and public health activity.

The Trump Administration has recently proposed a rewrite of the rules by which it conducts the 2030 Census. In simple terms, it proposes basing the Representatives in Congress only on the number of US citizens and lawful permanent residents, asking an untested question about citizenship and legal status on the census form, using various governmental and commercial databases to establish one's place of residency, defining one's place of residency as where they lived during a six-month "enumeration period," and making these changes permanent.

These changes are massive, in some cases run counter to how the Census has been conducted since 1790, and at a minimum, raise the possibility of important shifts in representation and Federal funding. Some populations of individuals at risk of losing their representation in Congress and voice in the Presidential election include: people in emergency and domestic violence shelters, newly divorced or separated women, LGBTQ+ individuals, hospitalized and institutionalized persons, and many others.

If you thought that the gerrymandering fights were dangerous, this is an order of magnitude more so. Your voice matters! The proposed rule is open for comments until October 13. Please attend a workshop organized by the APHA Medical Care Section to learn more about this threat, how to take action, and how to write an effective comment.