As early as mid-April, just weeks into the country shuttering during the pandemic, the Census Bureau pleaded with Congress to extend deadlines for the count for 120 days.
But Congress never officially granted the statutory extensions, and in late July, Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham, an appointee of President Donald Trump, began to back away from the bureau’s requested extension.
“The court’s decision ensures that our underrepresented and most vulnerable communities will not be disadvantaged by an unfair and incomplete census count,†Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law — one of the parties that sued over the timeline — said in a statement.
District Judge Lucy Koh’s order cites those concerns about an inaccurate and incomplete census count in extending the count.
The battle over the census deadlines is one of a multifront legal battle that has broken out over the decennial count.
A report made public earlier in the week from the Commerce Department’s Office of Inspector General found that the decision to accelerate the census schedule “was not made by the Census Bureau†and that it “increases the risks to obtaining a complete and accurate 2020 Census.†The Commerce Department oversees the Census Bureau.
At a hearing held by the House Oversight Committee earlier this month, John Thompson, former director of the Census Bureau from 2013-17, raised serious concerns about the count
“I am extremely concerned that the actions that have been taken to truncate 2020 census data collection activities … will adversely affect the quality and accuracy of the 2020 census,†Thompson said, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the nonresponse followup in the truncated timeline, along with concerns over the shortened data processing times
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