You might have heard about the Commerce Department’s controversial decision to adjust one particular question on the 2020 census so that everyone has to answer it.
This question is so controversial, 17 states and several cities have filed a lawsuit to stop it. Wednesday it was announced that individuals from Arizona are filing their own lawsuit about it.
This question is about citizenship status.
This tiny bit of information, some say, could scare people away from filling out the census. And that it has the potential to cost states dearly, particularly Arizona.
Undercounting our population could mean missing out on our slice of the $800 billion in annual federal funds from the census — and could even mean losing a seat in Congress.
Kenneth Wachter is chair and professor of the department of demography at the University of California Berkeley. He joined The Show to explain the challenges that the government faces in trying to get people to participate.
