The following article by Michael Wines was posted on the New York Times website December 9, 2017:
WASHINGTON — Census experts and public officials are expressing growing concerns that the bedrock mission of the 2020 census — an accurate and trustworthy head count of everyone in the United States — is imperiled, with worrisome implications.
Preparations for the count already are complicated by a sea change in the census itself: For the first time, it will be conducted largely online instead of by mail.
But as the Census Bureau ramps up its spending and work force for the 2020 count, it is saddled with problems. Its two top administrative posts are filled by placeholders. Years of underfunding by Congress and cost overruns on the digital transition have forced the agency to pare back its preparations, including abandoning two of the three trial runs of the overhauled census process. Continue reading “With 2020 Census Looming, Worries About Fairness and Accuracy”