Census could undercount those without internet access

[Tanuki]

https://slate.com/technology/2019/07/census-undercount-internet-access.html
......"For the first time in our history, the U.S. census will prioritize collecting responses online. In practice, this means that most households will get a letter in the mail directing them to fill out a form on a website. For households that do not respond, letters with paper forms may follow, and a census taker could eventually be sent to collect the data in person. But in light of the effort to increase internet responses, there will be a reduced effort to call on homes, knock on doors, and get responses in the mail. In fact, the Census Bureau has planned to hire 125,000 fewer staff members than during the last go-around 10 years ago, because it is counting on this online effort, in conjunction with local 
resources, to secure participation.
At first glance, this makes sense. In the digital age, wearing out shoe leather to survey the population seems more than a little antiquated. Plus, a technology-first approach will save scarce resources and better reflects how so many of us live our constantly connected lives. But it also creates a problem for communities without reliable access to broadband.

As a member of the Federal Communications Commission, I know too many Americans lack broadband at home. According to the agency’s official statistics, about 21 million Americans live in areas without high-speed service, the bulk of them in rural areas. However, the situation is worse than official numbers suggest. The method we use to count which households have internet access and which do not has a serious flaw. It assumes that if a single customer can get broadband in a census block, then service must be available throughout the entire block. As a result, official data significantly overstates the presence of broadband nationwide. In fact, a study found that as many as 162 million people across the United States do not use the internet at broadband speeds. The gap between 21 million and 162 million raises big questions about broadband coverage. It turns the digital divide into a chasm.

On top of this, many households simply cannot afford broadband service. The Pew Research Centerreports that nearly half of adults who earn less than $30,000 do not have broadband service at home. Moreover, roughly 1 in 4 Hispanic and black adults depend on smartphones for internet access. As a result, data caps can limit their ability to do much online. This, when compounded with the heated rhetoric that has already surrounded the census, may put participation by parts of the population in jeopardy."....(more)

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. It's also astonishing how many people

refuse to fill out their Census form.

I had a clerical job with the Census last time, and people would write on the form: THIS IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!!

All of those people should have been gathered together, given a two-week course on the Constitution with a serious final exam at the end. If they pass, they can stay in the country. And fill out their Census form.

[dchill]

2. **sigh**

[The Genealogist]

3. I worked clerical during the 2010 census too!

I loved working in the offfice. You couldn't have paid me to work in the field. Our enumerators had guns pulled on them on more than one occasion, not to mention some horrible verbal abuse. Luckily nobody was hurt.

If I remember correctly, the screeching from the wingnut howler monkeys derived from AM hate radio doing some of its shit stirring. If the same questions had come out during a Republican administration, I'd bet the screeching would be much less.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. Yeah, I wouldn't be an enumerator either.

What I found especially amusing was that one of those THIS ISN'T CONSTITUTIONAL returns came from a local right-wing nut job who was on local radio.