Census and The City

Executive Summary

In 2020, New York State will participate in the Decennial Census, a constitutionally mandated count of our nation’s people. The Census aims to count every person living within the United States, tallying important information about housing, family composition, home finances and many other vital statistics. The results of the 2020 Census will have an indelible influence on our nation and our City. The data collected will guide the appropriation of billions of dollars of federal grants, determine how many representatives will be allocated to each electoral district, drive policymaking, and create the fullest picture to date of America and its social, economic and demographic make-up.

While the census has been administered every ten years since 1790, the 2020 Census will be the first to be conducted primarily online. Rather than sending a hefty census form to every mailbox in the country, most New Yorkers will instead receive a letter instructing them to complete the census online. This shift from paper to digital outreach is intended to leverage new technologies and reduce costs, but will also have profound implications for the many New Yorkers who lack access to an internet connection.

Even in 2019, New York City still suffers from a stark ‘digital divide’ that leaves certain communities and families without access to the internet. Across the city, nearly one-third of households lack access to broadband internet at home, making it imperative that the Census Bureau – as well as partners in New York City and New York State government – make every effort to be sure these populations are accurately counted. At stake is as much as $5.8 billion in revenue associated with census-guided federal programs that contribute each year to New York City’s budget. These programs support school lunches, Head Start, winter heating assistance, transportation improvements, and more.

This analysis by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer uses data derived from the Census Bureau to pinpoint the communities where disparities in internet access may reduce self-response rates to the Census and potentially result in an undercount. Unless adequate outreach provisions are made, a digital Census potentially threatens to obscure vulnerable populations within New York City that are most in need of accurate representation. Indeed, according to the Comptroller’s analysis, households lacking internet access are more likely to be people of color, impoverished, less educated, outside of the labor force, or elderly.

The Comptroller’s analysis shows that as of 2017:

• 917,239 New York City households, or 29 percent of all City households, are without broadband internet access. These households are home to close to 2.2 million New Yorkers. Among households lacking broadband internet, about 352,000 do have cellular data plans for their smartphones or tablets. While these households will be able to complete the 2020 Census on their mobile device, research suggests that they are likely to experience greater difficulty in successfully participating in the Census.
• In many communities, the digital divide runs much deeper, among them Chinatown & Lower East Side (50 percent without broadband internet access), Hunts Point, Longwood & Melrose (48 percent without broadband internet access), Borough Park, Kensington & Ocean Parkway (46 percent without broadband internet access), Morris Heights, Fordham South & Mount Hope (44 percent without broadband internet access), Belmont, Crotona Park East & East Tremont (43 percent without broadband internet access), and Jamaica, Hollis & St. Albans (43 percent without broadband internet access).
• About 30 percent of Hispanic and Black New Yorkers lack broadband internet access, compared to 20 percent of White New Yorkers and 22 percent of Asian residents.
• Seventeen city neighborhoods (out of 55) have a higher than average share of households without broadband internet access and recorded a lower than average response rate to the 2010 Census.
• Internet disparities track closely to socioeconomic factors like poverty. Forty four percent of New Yorkers in poverty lack broadband internet access, as opposed to 22 percent above the poverty line. Thirty six percent of New Yorkers outside of the labor force lack a broadband internet connection, versus 20 percent for employed New Yorkers.
• Seniors are much more likely to be without a broadband internet connection compared to the general population. Forty two percent of New Yorkers 65 and above lacked broadband internet access, compared to 23 percent of 18 to 24 year olds.
• New Yorkers with lower educational attainment are much more likely to lack broadband internet access. Forty one percent of New Yorkers without a high school degree lack a broadband internet connection, compared to only 15 percent of New Yorkers with college degrees.

Unfortunately, these glaring disparities in internet access are just one potential barrier to conducting a full and accurate census count. Indeed, the Trump Administration has already taken several steps that seem all but designed to result in an undercount – especially among people of color.

Most notably, the Trump Administration’s egregious proposal to add a politically motivated question concerning citizenship to the Census form promised to significantly reduce Census response rates. In addition to unfairly targeting immigrant communities, new evidence suggests the question was added as part of a broader strategy to help Republicans gain power by basing new political maps on the number of voting-age citizens instead of total population — a strategy that could only be executed by manipulating the census to ask about citizenship.[1] The unnecessary question was thankfully thwarted by the Supreme Court, though the Trump Administration remains intent on pursuing a count of non-citizens through alternative means.

While the 2020 Census form will not include a citizenship question, the Trump Administration’s actions and rhetoric may have done irreparable harm to immigrant New Yorkers’ willingness to participate.  Beyond this core concern are several concerning missteps that have already hampered the transition to an online census, including:

• The Census Bureau has been under-funded since at least 2012, leaving it about $200 million short in dollars needed “to produce the kind of census that they were planning,” former Trump Census Director John Thompson said in 2017.[2] Insufficient funding forced the Census to scale back testing in 2018.[3]
• Cost overruns during a 2018 trial in Providence, Rhode Island forced the Census to cancel follow-up tests.[4] As a result, certain cybersecurity and data collection systems that were not available at the time of the initial trial remain untested and have heightened concerns that “the system simply won’t work properly in areas that are on the wrong side of the digital divide.”[5]
• The Census Bureau has not released information about key parts of the online process. For example, public access providers have not had an opportunity to interact with the user interface and test the system across different devices and browsers, nor interact with the system to prepare for inevitable glitches and navigation challenges.[6]

To help mitigate these failings at the federal level and blunt the potential impact the digital divide can have on Census response rates, New York City and State must mobilize every resource to reach every individual. New York City’s recent decision to commit a total of $40 million to boost outreach is a positive step, but in many ways the City is already trailing behind other jurisdictions. Among the recommendations included in this report are the following:

• Send paper forms to communities with low rates of broadband internet connectivity. The Census Bureau has committed to providing paper forms to approximately 20 percent of the nation’s population, although federal officials have yet to specify where those forms will be distributed. New York City communities with low rates of broadband internet access should be prioritized for the distribution of paper forms.
• Expand digital resources at public libraries. New York’s library systems play an absolutely vital role in connecting New Yorkers to the internet and are uniquely suited to help New Yorkers successfully complete the Census. The City should meet its residents where they are and give libraries the resources they need to help residents complete their census forms.
• Expand public awareness campaigns. The transition to a digital Census elevates the importance of educating New Yorkers about the Census. New Yorkers should know that sharing personal information through the official Census website is safe and data will not be shared with other federal agencies. Residents should also be aware of all options available for completing the questionnaire and should know how to protect their personal data and how to avoid potential scams.
• Ensure that community based organizations, libraries, and other groups are adequately resourced for the unique challenges of a digital Census. Any organization tasked with supporting the digital Census must be given resources to adequately provide for the infrastructure and process, as well as the digital safety and security of respondents.
• Leverage city assets. In addition to leveraging public libraries, the City should utilize other trusted organizations to educate New Yorkers and facilitate survey completion. For example, the National League of Cities recommends offering digital literacy training at senior centers to ensure familiarity with technology.[7] The City’s public school system can also be used to educate students and parents about the Census.
• Install Census kiosks. For the Census trial in Providence, Rhode Island, the Census Bureau deployed interactive kiosks in post offices for the public to fill out the survey.[8] New York City could install similar kiosks or laptops or tablets in trusted locations across the city, such as places of worship, health clinics, and schools.
• Enlist census workers with appropriate translation abilities and cultural competencies, regardless of citizenship status. To help conduct the Census, the Census Bureau will recruit hundreds of thousands of workers to act as enumerators or translators, including an estimated 13,000 workers in New York City alone. New York based workers should reflect the diversity of the city. In order to appropriately recruit a diverse range of translators, Census Bureau hiring must be granted an exemption from federal regulations that require Census employees to have U.S. citizenship.
• Prepare for problems. New York City and its community partners must be prepared for challenges, including problems with basic system functionality, spotty internet connections, cyberattacks, and phishing schemes. The City should provide guidance to community outreach groups on how to respond to different situations, including possible malware and cyberattacks. The City should also plan to track functionality, for example, system outages and incidents at all public sites.

The Census and the City

The importance of a fair and accurate decennial Census cannot be overstated. For the next decade, data collected in the 2020 Census will be used to determine the number of congressional seats in New York and every other state, draw congressional and state legislative district lines, plan for community needs and infrastructure, and allocate and set limits around a broad array of public funding. Governments will use the data to project future revenues and spending. Businesses will use Census data to project market demand. And researchers, including those at the City Comptroller’s office, will use the data to identify social problems and estimate the costs of addressing unmet needs.

The decennial Census provides the statistical foundation for a wide span of federal and state assistance programs. In conjunction with other survey data, the federal government uses demographic data from the decennial Census to determine eligibility for funding programs (e.g. designating “rural” and “urban” areas), allocate funding geographically, and set funding preferences by need.  While certain federal programs use population counts as a part of their funding formula — such as Title I grants to school districts, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) — an even larger universe of programs depends on economic indicators that are derived from decennial Census data. These indicators include the Consumer Price Index, per capita income, unemployment rates, and poverty thresholds.

Research conducted by the GW Institute of Public Policy tallied more than $880 billion in federal funding across about 320 Census-guided programs in federal fiscal year 2016, including grants, tax credits, and federal contracts.[9]  Such funding included $73 billion for New York State from the 55 largest federal programs guided by data derived from the 2010 Census.[10]  New York’s annual funding streams that rely on the Census range from roughly $35 billion for Medicaid reimbursements to health care providers, to about $5 billion in direct assistance for food purchases through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Federal reimbursement for Medicaid varies based on states’ per capita income, which depends on an accurate population count, while the monetary value of SNAP benefits depend on the cost of a “Thrifty Food Plan,” which is based on surveyed food consumption and then weighted to be representative of the U.S. low-income population.[11]

New York City similarly relies heavily on Census-guided federal programs. As shown in Table 1, in fiscal year 2018, the City budget was supported by about $5.8 billion from such programs, including $1.8 billion from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), $653 million from Title I grants, and $482 million from the Child Care and Development Block Grant. In addition to these federal assistance grants, New York City also benefits from its per-capita allocation of 10-year Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). In calendar year 2019, each state’s annual allocation of LIHTCs equals the greater of $2.76 per capita or $3,166,875, and in late 2018, the City awarded $18 million in annual LIHTCs to support the creation or preservation of nearly 1,000 units of affordable housing.[12]

Table 1: Federal Grants to New York City from Census-guided Programs, City Fiscal Year 2018

SOURCE: NYC Comptroller’s Office analysis of Andrew Reamer, “The Role of the Decennial Census in the Geographic Distribution of Federal Funds,” GW Institute of Public Policy at The George Washington University (January 2019), https://gwipp.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2181/f/downloads/CFD%20%235%20–%2055%20Large%20Census-guided%20Programs%20by%20State%20FY2016.xlsx; and the City of New York, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal 2018.

Crossing the Digital Divide

Given the Census’ critical role in delivering resources to the City, ensuring representation, and serving as a foundation for policy making, achieving a fully accurate count of all of New York City residents is essential.

The best and most accurate source of Census data is questionnaires filled out by individual respondents. Although the Census Bureau attempts to fill in gaps caused by non-responses with administrative records, such efforts have been revealed to introduce errors and compromise results.[13]  Evaluations of prior decennial Census counts have shown that the most economically and socially vulnerable populations — including immigrants, minorities, children, and renters — are the most difficult to count.[14]  Given that immigrants make up nearly 40 percent of New York City’s population, and close to 60 percent of New Yorkers are non-white, efforts to ensure an accurate count are particularly critical across the five boroughs.[15]

Shifting to a predominantly online decennial Census survey in 2020 has the potential to exacerbate historical variations in community response rates. Even in 2019, internet access is not equally shared across New York City communities. If the transition to a digital census fails to allocate appropriate resources dedicated to reaching those without an internet connection, vast pockets of New Yorkers could go uncounted.

The most critical determinant of successfully completing a digital 2020 Census survey is access to high-speed broadband internet at home. Households who do not receive a paper form and do not have easy access to broadband internet will be forced to fill out the 2020 Census using a mobile device, a public internet-connected computer, or dial-up internet. Broadband internet includes cable, fiber optic, or DSL service and usually involves a modem which provides a wired connection or wireless signal. Broadband internet does not include cellular data plans for a smart phone or tablet.

However, an analysis of the 2017 American Community Survey finds that fully 29 percent of New York City households, or 917,239 households, lack paid broadband access at home. Most concerning, rates of broadband internet access vary widely across the city. For instance, while 46 percent of homes in Borough Park, Kensington & Ocean Parkway lack a broadband connection, only 15 percent of homes on the Upper East Side are similarly disadvantaged.

Among households that do not have broadband internet access at home, nearly 476,000 do not have any internet access. Another roughly 352,000 households pay for a cellular data plan for a smartphone or other mobile device. While these households will be able to complete the 2020 Census on their mobile device, past research on mobile Census surveys suggests that they will likely experience more difficulties in successfully completing the survey. In part due to longer loading times and more scrolling, mobile device respondents to previous Census surveys have experienced longer completion times and higher rates of starting but not completing the survey.[16] Smart-phone only households may also be limited by their data plans and may encounter frustrations typing the website link to the 2020 survey, which will be provided in a letter mailed to every household.

Chart 1: Share of Households without Broadband Internet Access

Note: For the purposes of this analysis, broadband internet does not include cellular data plans for a smart phone or tablet.

SOURCE: Comptroller’s Office analysis of U.S. Census microdata for 2017.

Disparities in broadband internet access cross not only geographic lines but also racial and ethnic lines within New York City. New Yorkers living in poverty are twice as likely to lack a broadband internet connection as residents with higher incomes. Additionally, the share of New Yorkers lacking internet access is about 10 percentage points higher for Black and Hispanic residents, compared to White and Asian New Yorkers. Older adults, as well as adults lacking a high school degree and those who are out of the labor force, also experience much lower rates of connectivity.

It is not surprising then that research dissecting the outcomes of the Census Bureau’s 2018 test of online systems shows that certain populations had significantly lower response rates to the digital Census than the general population.[17] Of particular concern is research from the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials showing that among survey respondents, only 20 percent of the Latinx populations in the test area responded digitally, as opposed to 36 percent of White respondents.[18]

The below tables summarize several documented divides in broadband internet connections among the New York City resident population.[19]

Broadband Internet Access by Race

Broadband Internet Access by Age

Broadband Internet Access by Poverty Status

Broadband Internet Access by Employment Status

*Age 16 and above.

Broadband Internet Access by Educational Attainment

*Age 16 and above.

Note: For the purposes of this analysis, broadband internet does not include cellular data plans for a smart phone or tablet.

SOURCE: Comptroller’s Office analysis of U.S. Census microdata for 2017.

Recommendations

With over 917,000 New York City households currently lacking broadband internet, all levels of government must make every effort to ensure that no one is left behind in the first digital Census, especially considering the atmosphere of mistrust surrounding the 2020 Census. Various groups, including NY2020 Counts and the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), are already doing a commendable job preparing for the Census. Both New York City and New York State recently included funding for Census outreach efforts in their respective budgets for the coming year. These resources must be smartly allocated, including key investments to help drive turnout in areas lacking internet access.

The Comptroller’s Office recommends the following actions to support the success of New York City’s count.

Send paper forms to communities with low rates of broadband internet connectivity.

The Census Bureau has committed to providing paper forms to approximately 20 percent of the nation’s population, although federal officials have yet to specify where those forms will be distributed. New York City communities with low rates of broadband internet access should be prioritized for the distribution of paper forms.

While paper questionnaires are meant to be mailed to many households that do not respond first to the digital Census within a month, research shows that achieving high response rates based on initial outreach is essential to an accurate count.[20] By sending paper forms to areas with low internet connectivity, the Census Bureau can save valuable time, avoid costs associated with dispatching enumerators, and achieve higher response rates. The Census Bureau should also reveal how they are determining who will receive the paper form, enabling public officials and community groups to better target outreach.

Expand digital resources at public libraries.

New York’s library systems play an absolutely vital role in connecting New Yorkers to the internet and are uniquely suited to help New Yorkers successfully complete the Census. The City should meet its residents where they are and give libraries the resources they need to help residents complete their census forms. While libraries already have the basic infrastructure necessary to allow New Yorkers to complete an online Census, additional funding and resources are needed to protect personal information and ensure a smooth process. The New School’s Digital Equity Laboratory has further recommended dedicating computers or other devices at libraries for census survey completion only; making computers and devices available to all members of the public, not just library card holders; and installing secure, up-to-date browsers on all library devices dedicated to Census efforts.[21] Libraries should be granted the funding they need to host census-filers, including resources that can increase open hours, add librarians, and enhance computing equipment.

Expand public awareness campaigns.

The transition to a digital Census elevates the importance of educating New Yorkers about the Census. New Yorkers should know that sharing personal information through the official Census website is safe and data will not be shared with other federal agencies. Residents should also be aware of all options available for completing the questionnaire and should know how to protect their personal data and how to avoid potential scams.

Ensure that community based organizations, libraries, and other groups are adequately resourced for the unique challenges of a digital Census.

Any organization tasked with supporting the digital Census must be given resources to adequately provide for the infrastructure and process, as well as the digital safety and security of respondents. Census information can be sensitive, and the unwanted leak of personal information could abet fraud. The City should assist all of its Census partners in providing expert guidance on digital safety, such as the set of recommendations recently published by the New School.[22] The City should also publicize how it plans to ensure residents’ digital security at public libraries, public WiFi hot spots, and other public sites used for Census outreach. Safeguarding privacy is crucial to encouraging participation in the Census and the safety of respondents.

Leverage city assets.

In addition to leveraging public libraries, the City should utilize other trusted organizations to educate New Yorkers and facilitate survey completion. For example, the National League of Cities recommends offering digital literacy training at senior centers to ensure familiarity with technology.[23] The City’s public school system can also be used to educate students and parents about the Census. For example, the Los Angeles County Office of Education plans to train parents and school personnel on the importance of Census participation and plans to identify spaces to site Census action kiosks and informational centers.[24] Additionally, educating and energizing school children, who likely have a greater comfort with technology, may further help promote Census completion by motivating them to engage their caregivers. Moreover, in non-English speaking households, children often act as translators for their older relatives.

Install Census kiosks.

For the Census trial in Providence, Rhode Island, the Census Bureau deployed interactive kiosks in post offices for the public to fill out the survey.[25] New York City could install similar kiosks or laptops or tablets in trusted locations across the city, such as places of worship, health clinics, and schools.

Enlist Census workers with appropriate translation abilities and cultural competencies, regardless of citizenship status.

To help conduct the Census, the Census Bureau will recruit thousands of workers to act as enumerators or translators. All told, approximately 500,000 office and field staff will be hired nationally and close to 13,000 census enumerators will be hired within New York City alone.[26]

The workforce the Census Bureau hires to conduct outreach and provide translation services must reflect the diversity of New York City. However, currently the Census Bureau requires applicants for 2020 Census jobs to be U.S. citizens, a requirement that only serves to limit the City’s access to culturally competent, multi-lingual census workers.[27] The Census Bureau has been granted a waiver to employ non-citizen workers for past census counts.[28] Securing a waiver for the 2020 count must be an immediate priority. Adequate census outreach in New York City, where as many as 800 languages are spoken, is doomed to failure without the help of dedicated workers, regardless of their citizenship status.[29]

Prepare for problems.

New York City and its community partners must be prepared for challenges, including problems with basic system functionality, spotty internet connections, cyberattacks, and phishing schemes. The City should provide guidance to community outreach groups on how to respond to different situations, including possible malware and cyberattacks. The City should also plan to track functionality, for example, system outages and incidents at all public sites.

Appendix: 2010 Census Response Rate and Access to Broadband Internet by Community District

Chart 2: 2010 Census Response Rate

SOURCE: Comptroller’s Office analysis of data provided by the New York City Department of City Planning on 2010 Census response rates by Neighborhood Tabulation Area.

(In order of lowest to highest 2010 Census response rate)

Table 2: 2010 Census Response Rate

Note: For the purposes of this analysis, broadband internet does not include cellular data plans for a smart phone or tablet.

SOURCE: Comptroller’s Office analysis of U.S. Census microdata for 2017 and data provided by the New York City Department of City Planning on 2010 Census response rates by Neighborhood Tabulation Area.

Endnotes

[1] Michael Wines, “Fight Over Census Documents Centers on Motive for a Citizenship Question” New York Times (June 12, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/us/census-citizenship-question-motives.html.

[2] Chase Gunter, “Thompson Dishes on Census Concerns, Needs for Catch-up” FCW (July 26, 2017), https://fcw.com/articles/2017/07/26/census-gunter.aspx.

[3] United States Census Bureau, “U.S. Census Bureau Announces Changes to 2017 Field Tests” (October 18, 2016), https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/director/2016/10/u_s_census_bureaua.html.

[4] Greta Byrum and Meghan McDermott, “Preparing for the Digital Decennial Census,” (June 2019), https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EAA62txlBP20PKQCbR7lw-gLbALLrJMe/view.

[5] Issie Lapowsky, “The Challenge of America’s First Online Census” Wired (February 6, 2019),https://www.wired.com/story/us-census-2020-goes-digital/

[6] Greta Byrum and Meghan McDermott, “Preparing for the Digital Decennial Census,” (June 2019), https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EAA62txlBP20PKQCbR7lw-gLbALLrJMe/view.

[7] National League of Cities, “Preparing for the 2020 Census” (2018), https://www.nlc.org/sites/default/files/2018-10/Census%202020%20MAG_0.pdf.

[8] Mike Maciag, “A Better Count” Governing Magazine (January 2019), https://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/gov-2020-census-count.html; and United States Census Bureau, “Census Bureau and Postal Service Team Up for 2018 Census Test” (May 9, 2018), https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/usps.html.

[9] Andrew Reamer, “Census-derived Datasets Used to Distribute Federal Funds,” GW Institute of Public Policy at The George Washington University (December 2018), p. 1, https://gwipp.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2181/f/downloads/Counting%20for%20Dollars%20%234%20Census-derived%20Datasets%20rev%2005-19.pdf.

[10] Andrew Reamer, “The Role of the Decennial Census in the Geographic Distribution of Federal Funds: New York,” GW Institute of Public Policy at The George Washington University (January 2019), https://gwipp.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2181/f/downloads/IPP-1819-3%20CountingforDollars_NY.pdf.

[11] See United States Department of Agriculture, Thrifty Food Plan, 2006 (April 2007), https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/usda_food_plans_cost_of_food/TFP2006Report.pdf.

[12] U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Revenue Procedure 2018-57, https://www.ncsha.org/resource/rev-proc-18-57/; “HPD Announces the Award of $18.1 Million in Tax Credits to Create Nearly 1,000 Affordable Homes Across the Five Boroughs” (press release, December 18, 2018), https://www1.nyc.gov/site/hpd/about/press-releases/2018/12/hpd-announces-the-award-of-tax-credits.page; and New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, “2018 Awards for 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit,” https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/hpd/downloads/pdf/LIHTC/tax-credits-awarded-2018-funding-round.pdf.

[13] Joseph J. Salvo, “Errors in the Census: The Local Perspective,” Expert Rebuttal Report filed in State of New York, et al., v. U.S. Department of Commerce, et al., 18-CV-2921 (JMF) (November 10, 2018).

[14] United States Census Bureau, Investigating the 2010 Undercount of Young Children – Analysis of Census Coverage Measurement Results (January 2017), https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/program-management/final-analysis-reports/2020-2017_04-undercount-children-analysis-coverage.pdf; and Thomas Mule, “Census Coverage Measurement Memorandum Series #2010-G-01,” U.S. Census Bureau (May 22, 2012), https://www.census.gov/coverage_measurement/pdfs/g01.pdf.

[15] U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey, 5-year Estimates.

[16] The Leadership Conference Education Fund, Counting Everyone in the Digital Age (2017), http://www.georgetownpoverty.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LCEF_2020_Census_Poll_Report-Final-002.pdf.

[17] Kevin A. Escudero and Marisol Becerra, “The Last Chance to Get it Right: Implications of the 2018 Test of the Census for Latinos and the General Public,” https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/naleo/pages/190/attachments/original/1544560063/ETE_Census_Report-FINAL.pdf?1544560063.

[18] Kevin A. Escudero and Marisol Becerra, “The Last Chance to Get it Right: Implications of the 2018 Test of the Census for Latinos and the General Public,” https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/naleo/pages/190/attachments/original/1544560063/ETE_Census_Report-FINAL.pdf?1544560063.

[19] Comptroller’s analysis of U.S. Census microdata for 2017.

[20] Joseph J. Salvo, “Errors in the Census: The Local Perspective,” Expert Rebuttal Report filed in State of New York, et al., v. U.S. Department of Commerce, et al., 18-CV-2921 (JMF) (November 10, 2018) and Census Bureau, “2020 Census Operational Plan” (September 2016), https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/program-management/planning-docs/2020-oper-plan2.pdf.

[21] Greta Byrum and Meghan McDermott, “Preparing for the Digital Decennial Census,” (June 2019), https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EAA62txlBP20PKQCbR7lw-gLbALLrJMe/view.

[22] Greta Byrum and Meghan McDermott, “Preparing for the Digital Decennial Census,” (June 2019), https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EAA62txlBP20PKQCbR7lw-gLbALLrJMe/view.

[23] National League of Cities, “Preparing for the 2020 Census” (2018), https://www.nlc.org/sites/default/files/2018-10/Census%202020%20MAG_0.pdf.

[24] Los Angeles Office of Education, “Schools to Play Key Role in 2020 Census” (April 11, 2019), https://www.lacoe.edu/Home/News-Announcements/ID/4310/Schools-to-play-key-role-in-2020-census.

[25] Mike Maciag, “A Better Count” Governing Magazine (January 2019), https://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/gov-2020-census-count.html; and United States Census Bureau, “Census Bureau and Postal Service Team Up for 2018 Census Test” (May 9, 2018), https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/usps.html.

[26] CensusOutreach, “Field Job: Census Takers / Enumerators,” https://www.censusoutreach.org/census-enumerators.

[27] United States Census Bureau, “Job Details,” https://www.censusoutreach.org/census-enumerators.

[28] Hansi Lo Wang, “The Census Bureau Needs To Hire Half A Million Workers For The 2020 Count,” NPR (January 28, 2019): https://www.npr.org/2019/01/28/689237309/census-bureau-conducts-massive-recruiting-effort-for-2020-head-count.

[29] Sam Roberts “Listening to (and Saving) the World’s Languages,” The New York Times (April 29, 2010), https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/nyregion/29lost.html.