Census experts are criticizing the Trump Administration's proposed changes to 2030 Census testing, calling them scientifically invalid and wasteful. The Census Quality Reinforcement Task Force and other experts submitted formal comments to the Commerce Department opposing these changes. The concerning changes include: refusing to test the actual census questions (using longer survey questions instead), cutting 4 out of 6 testing sites including rural and tribal communities, eliminating internet responses in all languages except English, and using unofficial mail carriers instead of sworn census workers which threatens privacy and costs more.
These changes could make it harder to count historically undercounted communities like rural areas, tribal nations, and non-English speakers. The census is crucial because it determines how congressional seats are divided among states, how voting districts are drawn, and how federal funding is distributed to communities. Experts warn these flawed tests could lead to millions of people being missed in the official 2030 census, making them invisible in data that drives government policy and economic decisions.
The Census Quality Reinforcement Task Force is a non-partisan group that includes civil society leaders, historians, statisticians, and demographers working to ensure accurate census counts.