Business Leader Update : 2020 Census & Citizenship
Recently, I wrote an op-ed about the importance of the Census to the business community. Since then, the Census seems to be everywhere in the news because of a recent controversial decision by the Trump Administration. Below, I provide a quick overview of what is the issue, the different perspectives and what it may mean for the business community.
What is the “citizenship question” on the census that has been in the spotlight this week?
On March 26th, Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, whose agency oversees the Census Bureau, granted a request from the Department of Justice to include a question on the 2020 census which asks respondents to indicate if they are U.S. citizens or not. The explanation given by the Department of Justice for the request, was that this data is needed to better enforce protections for minorities under the Voting Rights Act. However, this has generally been a political issue for some Republicans and is subject to debate as you will read below.
What does the Constitution say?
In reference to who shall be included in the census, the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, Section 2 states: “Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.” The Supreme Court has also ruled on the importance of an inclusive count, based on total population, as it “promotes equitable and effective representation.”
What do supporters of the citizenship question say?
Supporters of the question, such as Sen. Marco Rubio (FL-R), see no harm in adding the question, and view it as a simple data-gathering exercise, along with the scores of other questions that are included in the census. Others say it is simply important for a country to know how many citizens it has. They also point out that the question remains optional.
What do those opposed to the citizenship question say?
The concerns range from poor data integrity resulting from an untested question, to the chilling effect the question will have on minority participation, resulting in a dramatic undercount in many communities - particularly those with large immigrant populations. Vanita Gupta, president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said: “Adding this question will result in a bad census – deeply flawed population data that will skew public and private sector decisions to ensure equal representation, allocate government resources, and anticipate economic growth opportunities – for the next 10 years,″
Why is it controversial?
Civil rights groups, election law experts, and many state and local elected officials nationwide strongly disagree with the premise of the question, the manner in which it is being introduced into the process, and the effect they project it will have on participation rates. They argue that the question is unnecessary, as there are other methods that are used to assess citizenship numbers. They also argue that the Constitution references counting all people living in each state - not just citizens. The main reasons that the question is receiving strong opposition is that it is being introduced, untested, at the very last minute, and will have a chilling effect on total participation rates, discouraging minorities, immigrants, and other vulnerable populations from responding, for fear of being targeted by immigration authorities or law enforcement agencies.
Here’s why it matters for business:
The census is a vital tool for business development and growth. Businesses use data derived from the census and the American Community Survey to measure the size of a market for their services. It helps enterprises both large and small make informed decisions, such as where to open new facilities or expand existing ones, how to invest in efficient marketing and merchandising strategies, forecast demand, growth and staffing needs.
Any factor that has the potential to suppress participation and result in an undercount, presents a danger to our country’s commercial interests and global competitiveness. For American business, the census is not about citizenship - it's about an accurate count. In business, every person counts. It is about understanding the size of our market, our consumer base, and the usage of products, services, and infrastructures. Everyone from supermarket chains to mobile phone companies need to know how many people they will serve in the next decade, and where those customers are located. Anything that skews those numbers does a great disservice to American business.
For the first time in the 2020 Census, there will be an option to fill out the questionnaire online. This will be a welcome boost to participation rates - but adding untested and politically-charged questions to the census at this stage in the game will unfortunately, risk negative unintended consequences that will cost far more than the value gained by any question on citizenship.
Devere Kutscher is a Principal at Public Private Strategies. You can contact him at devere@publicprivatestrategies.com.
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