US Census Hopes to Count on Writers Dashboard Dashboard

With so much at stake, WGAW partners with the 2020 census to remind members to respond before the September 30 deadline.

Nationwide, only 63% of households have responded in the 2020 census count, including a mere 55% of households in Los Angeles. Add COVID-19 and concerted efforts to suppress the count, and the results of the census could have severe negative consequences for representation and critical services.

COVID-19 initially forced the suspension of field operations in March. Despite this, the Census Bureau quietly announced in August that it would end counting on September 30, as opposed to the original deadline of October 31, in yet another White House-driven effort to undermine the count. And in LA, in-person door knocking only resumed on August 11 and, with less than a month to go and 45% of the population to count, the region faces a very consequential and uphill battle.

The White House has also led legally dubious attempts to remove undocumented immigrants from the census totals and persistent, but halted, efforts to add a citizenship question. These actions have created fear among immigrant communities, where the response rate is expected to be especially depressed.

The effects of undercounting could be felt for the next decade. Every ten years, Americans are required by law to fill out the census, which dictates the allocation of billions of dollars in annual federal funding to states, including for healthcare, schools, housing, and transit. The census totals are also sent to Congress to reapportion representation in the House and used for drawing state legislative districts. An incomplete effort risks severe underreporting that could shift Congressional representation and resources away from districts with hard-to-count populations, comprised primarily of people of color.

Defend our democracy and local infrastructure by responding to the 2020 census now—it only takes a few minutes! To respond to the census or learn what else you can do to ensure a full count, visit 2020Census.gov. Follow @WgawAction on Twitter and retweet our messages about the census to help us spread the word.