Citizenship question on census

[Admin]

Recently League of Women Voters US lobbied Senator James Langford in opposition to the question about citizenship being added to the Census. Here is a link to Chris Carson's statment.

www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/census-citizenship-question-will-result-inaccurate-count

Excerpt:

"Adding this question to the Census now is not only unnecessary and jeopardizes the accuracy of the report, but it comes at a huge financial expense. Taxpayers should not be held responsible for the time and cost of changing the forms and making the report less accurate.

"The United States Constitution mandates an accurate count of all people living in the United States – not all citizens. Non-citizens are an integral part of our economy and need to be included in the 2020 Census to paint a complete picture of our great country. The clock is ticking toward 2020. We call on Congress to take action and correct this issue before it is too late."

[Admin]

On November 8, members of Volunteer Lobby Corps. visited the U.S. Senate, including Oklahoma Senator James Lankford's office. The visit took place on November 8th. It might be a good time for us to call our Senator and support the arguments against the inclusion of the citizenship question in the census. Here is an email from the Chair of the Lobby Corps.

Dear Jan and Karen:

This is just a heads-up that the LWV Volunteer Lobby Corps will be lobbying the U.S. Senate on the subject of the proposed new question about citizenship for the 2020 census (please see memo from Chris Carson below). I will be meeting with staffer Chris White in Senator Lankford's office on November 8 and will report back to you afterward. If you have any questions before I go, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm filling in this month for Bob Crowe, who normally handles the Oklahoma delegation for Lobby Corps.

Best regards,

Jackie Coolidge
Chair, Volunteer Lobby Corps
LWVUS
301-646-1940

And here is the report handed in by the Volunteer.

Dear Jan and Karen:



Here is my report from my visit to Lankford's office last week:



Legislation/Topic: September Census Citizenship Question



Name of Representative: Lankford



Date Visited: 11/08/2018



Overview of your conversation:

Mr. White put up a strong defense of the question, said it was "more useful than a lot of other questions in the census", saw "no evidence for any concern about mis-use of census data by ICE." He also claimed that "many groups are stirring up opposition and encouraging defiance" and civil disobedience against the question if it is included.



Was this office receptive your message about the citizenship question on the 2020 Census?

Very little. Mr. White listened and engaged politely but firmly.



Did this office share the Leagues concerns regarding the citizenship question?

No



Will this office address the removal of the question from the Census?

No. In fact, he seemed supportive of the question.



Additional Comments:

They are definitely of the opinion that "some groups" are encouraging non-compliance. I assured him that the LWV had the ultimate goal of a thorough and accurate census. We believe removal of the question would be a better approach to achieve that goal.



If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.



Kind regards,



Jackie

[Admin]

Nov 17, 2018 7:58:50 GMT -6 Admin said:

Recently League of Women Voters US lobbied Senator James Langford in opposition to the question about citizenship being added to the Census. Here is a link to Chris Carson's statment.

www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/census-citizenship-question-will-result-inaccurate-count

Excerpt:

"Adding this question to the Census now is not only unnecessary and jeopardizes the accuracy of the report, but it comes at a huge financial expense. Taxpayers should not be held responsible for the time and cost of changing the forms and making the report less accurate.

"The United States Constitution mandates an accurate count of all people living in the United States – not all citizens. Non-citizens are an integral part of our economy and need to be included in the 2020 Census to paint a complete picture of our great country. The clock is ticking toward 2020. We call on Congress to take action and correct this issue before it is too late."

I am attaching comments submitted by LWVUS to regulations.gov

FINAL LWVUS Comments on Census Citizenship ....pdf (568.31 KB)