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Census Bureau undercounted Black, Hispanic and Native American people

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David Meyers
By David MeyersMar 10, 2022
David Meyers

David Meyers is the Executive Editor of The Fulcrum. Before launching The Fulcrum, David spent more than two decades at CQ Roll Call, a leading publisher of political news and information. During his time there, David served as managing editor of Roll Call (“the newspaper of Capitol Hill”) and as managing editor of member information and research, which included co-editing the definitive biographical directory of Congress, “Politics in America.” David went on to lead all of CQ Roll Call’s congressional research teams as vice president of research and content development before shifting to a revenue and strategy role as vice president of business operations for Roll Call, working with the advertising and editorial teams to develop new revenue models and expand the company’s events business. David lives in Fairfax, Va., with his wife, two daughters and rottweiler. A graduate of Tufts University, David is a past president of the Tufts University Alumni Association. He is also a past president of the Washington Press Club Foundation, which works to celebrate and advance the role of women and minorities in the media. David currently serves on the board of directors for Temple B’nai Shalom in Fairfax Station.

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The 2020 census undercounted Black, Native American and Hispanic people while overcounting white and Asian people, the Census Bureau revealed Thursday.

The Post-Enumeration Survey found an overall undercount of approximately 700,000 people out of nearly 324 million, what it describes as an insignificant error rate of .24 percent. However, the data shows Hispanic people were undercounted by 5 percent, Black people by 3.3 percent, American Indians and Alaska Natives by nearly 1 percent, and “some other race” by 4.3 percent.

On the other hand, Asian people were overcounted by 2.6 percent and white people by .7 percent.

“Today’s results show statistical evidence that the quality of the 2020 census total population count is consistent with that of recent censuses. This is notable, given the unprecedented challenges of 2020,” said Census Bureau Director Robert Santos. “But the results also include some limitations — the 2020 census undercounted many of the same population groups we have historically undercounted, and it overcounted others.”

The under- and overcounts were similar to the data found in a study following the 2010 census, according to Census Bureau officials.

PES has been used since 1950 to assess the quality of the decennial population count, but it is not used to adjust congressional reapportionment or the distribution of federal dollars despite the discrepancies.

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“We believe the 2020 census data are fit for many uses in decision-making,” Santos said.

Officials and canvassers faced multiple challenges when conducting the population count.

“The 2020 Census faced many challenges, such as conducting fieldwork during the COVID-19 pandemic,” agency officials wrote in a report presenting the data. “Other challenges to the 2020 Census included controversy around a proposed citizenship question, and changes in the duration of the Nonresponse Followup and other operations.”

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