Seattle Times: Skip the Citizenship Question on Census

[ehrnst]

If the U.S. Supreme Court fails to eliminate a citizenship question from the 2020 census, Americans must consider carefully how to respond to this brazen political maneuver.

Former Gov. Gary Locke, who oversaw the census a decade ago as U.S. Commerce Secretary, suggests a path of mild lawbreaking: fill out the census form accurately, but leave the citizenship question unanswered. This breaks an obscure and long-dormant statute requiring responses to every census question. It is also the best of a set of bad choices the Trump administration has thrust upon all Americans.

The Constitution requires an accurate population count every decade to guide government decisions from political mapmaking to federal spending. Recently revealed documents show the Commerce Department added the citizenship query after a political strategist found evidence doing so would undercount the true population and result in political districts that benefit Republican interests. As The Seattle Times’ Gene Balk reported, a study estimates a national undercount of more than 4 million residents — more than 75,000 in Washington — if the question is asked.

This nakedly partisan move corrupts the census. But the Supreme Court may well overlook the convincing evidence that the citizenship question has been added in bad faith. A decision is expected soon.
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The protest Locke urges carries risks. A law that has not been enforced since the 1970 census attaches a potential $5,000 fine to refusal to answer every question, or for providing false information. The Trump administration could decide to exercise that authority.

However, if this noxious question is foisted upon every American household, a non-answer is a reasonable protest.

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/skip-citizenship-question-on-census/

I will be participating. If I get a bill for the fine, I'll reply as DJT responded to contractors who billed him: "I'm not really happy with the work you're doing. How about I pay you $25, because I know that it's going to cost you a lot more to come after me for the full amount. I learned that at Trump University."

[TheRealNorth]

1. Beyond counting people

I believe the Constitution only mandates the goverment count persons. I would think an argument could be made that requiring you to answer any other question other than the names/number of people living there would violate your rights to privacy.

I am strongly contemplating either skipping the question. If we boycott all the race/ethnicity/Age questions as well, that might get Wall Street's attention as well as corporations use that data (we would also need to boycott the annual American Community Surveys that are used to produce population estimates).