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Why The Census Matters In LA
(Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The 2020 Census has faced unprecedented challenges. By the time U.S. households began receiving census information in the mail last March, the coronavirus pandemic was sweeping across the nation, causing field operations to be suspended and creating delays.
The schedule for the census was changed, then changed again — all creating confusion as to how long the count is to continue.
The once-in-a-decade population count was suddenly cut short last month by the Trump administration, a move that dismayed Census Bureau officials, census advocates, and local leaders who agree that a shortened census will be less accurate. A federal judge will soon decide whether census workers will again be given more time to make sure everyone is counted.
Here's how we got here, and what it means for Los Angeles.
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What's at stake for Southern California in the 2020 Census? Billions of dollars in federal funding for programs like Medi-Cal, for public education, even disaster planning. Political representation in Sacramento and D.C. A census undercount could cut critical resources in L.A. County, home to the largest hard-to-count population in the nation.
It's not too late to be counted on the 2020 Census website.
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