Rhode Islanders have a financial stake in a current test of the U.S. Census, according to Common Cause of RI executive director John Marion.
The Ocean State is the only scene of a test run for the national Census to be conducted in 2020. Marion points to how the state is on the cusp of losing one of its two congressional districts in citing the importance of getting an accurate count of the state’s population. Plus, Marion said, there’s also a lot of federal money on the line.
“The Census is critically important for a number of reasons, one of which is that many, many federal dollars flow through formula are determined by the results of the Census,” he said. “The latest evaluation I’ve seen is there are about $3,000 per person, per year, flows to Rhode Island based on the Census count.”
Census forms in 2020 are expected to include a question about whether residents are U.S. citizens. (The current Census test in RI does not include such a question.) A citizenship question has not been used as part of the Census since 1950. Supporters call it an effort to get an accurate count of the U.S. population.
But critics say a citizenship question may discourage participation in the Census. Marion said concern about that widespread: “Many people from chambers of commerce to social scientists to civil rights leaders have said that asking a citizenship question will likely lead to many people not participating whether they’re citizens or not.”
Gabriela Domenzain, director of the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University, said she hopes criticism of the citizenship question will lead to it being deleted from the 2020 Census.
