Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration in its bid to end the U.S. Census count. The decision came despite serious questions about the quality of data collected during a global pandemic.
The Census Bureau says 99.9% of households have completed the survey. That might not be quite accurate. Incomplete surveys, surveys completed by another party, and estimates by census workers may all be included in that figure.
LAist recently explored what this could mean for California and the southern portion of the state in particular. Census workers in Pasadena and advocates in the Los Angeles County area have sounded alarms. Their concerns are shared by Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, who believes the final numbers for his city will be inaccurate.
“We should be going back to locations where we otherwise have to guess and take one more shot at getting the accurate information at that door," said Feuer who, along with the county, sued the Trump administration. "This is what we were fighting for throughout."
Los Angeles has a disproportionate number of households that are difficult to count. Ultimately, it means Los Angeles could lose a congressional seat.
That’s not the only ongoing fight that could determine funding and representation for the Golden State. Next month, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether undocumented immigrants can be excluded from the count. The decision could have enormous implications for California, which has the largest number of undocumented immigrants in the country.