Fight to Vote: did Trump just ruin the census?

Happy Thursday, and welcome back to Fight to Vote.

This week we’re taking a little break from the election and supreme court nomination (but not from Donald Trump, unfortunately) to answer another question about US democracy.

What the hell is going on with the census?

What you need to know right away

• It’s really hard to make the census sexy, but it’s extremely important. Every 10 years, the government attempts to count every person living in America through a massive outreach program.

• This number is then used to draw electoral districts, allocate $1.5tn in funding, and better understand who is living in the country.

• But on Monday, the supreme court sided with the Trump administration to end the count two weeks early – even while experts said that could lead to an inaccurate count.

How bad is the situation?

Decidedly not great. While the Census Bureau claims it counted 99.9% of the US population, some insiders say it is using lax and inaccurate metrics to make this case. And the people who stand to lose the most are hard to reach minority and immigrant groups.

Why would Trump want to cut the census short?

• Experts have speculated that Trump wants to cut the census short so his administration can change the data before the election in case he leaves office, or further attempt to exclude undocumented Americans.

• An undercount could also change the electoral map. Ohio stands to gain an electoral seat and Florida could lose one – both are critical swing states.

• States could also lose Medicaid funding – the program that many low-income Americans rely on for healthcare. But losing funds could backfire for Republicans in the states that rely on these programs for infrastructure, health and education.

How did we end up here?

The Census Bureau, the federal agency in charge of the count, is meant to be nonpartisan – in other words, the survey should have nothing to do with either the Republican or Democratic party.

But even before Covid-19 threw a wrench in the plans, Trump had already (unsuccessfully) attempted to add a citizenship question to the census, which could have scared off already vulnerable immigrant populations from voting.

Last month it was also revealed that government officials outside the bureau influenced the operations.

OK, that’s a lot of census talk, but stay tuned for more insights as the count winds down.

In other election news

Election snafus are still popping up

• Virginia’s voter registration site went down on the last day.

• Pennsylvania mailed out incorrect ballots.

Meanwhile, early voting has lifted off

• People are not shying away from the polls: Georgia saw some very, very long lines on the first day of in-person early voting, as did Texas.

• Early voting is already smashing 2016 levels, both through in-person and mail-in ballots.

Interesting initiatives on our radar

The Emancipation Initiative, an advocacy group in Massachusetts, is running their #DonateYourVote campaign. This fascinating campaign allows “free world” voters to pair with an incarcerated American who cannot vote and essentially “donate” their vote to them by casting a ballot that incorporates their preference or opinion.

Is it controversial or heartwarming? We’ll let you decide.

We’ll leave you with this quote from Steve Davidson, one of the voters who stood in line for hours in Georgia this week.

Evoking the late John Lewis and other civil rights icons, he said: “They’ve been fighting for decades. If I’ve got to wait six or seven hours, that’s my duty to do that. I’ll do it happily.”

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