The Census Project

Read the March 2026 Census Project Update: https://lnkd.in/gm5rFPB6

House Committee Seeks Extensive Census Details: To assist the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in census oversight, Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has written to George Cook, the acting director of the Census Bureau, requesting details and documentation on operational issues and future safeguards by April 7, 2026. The Chairman’s requests cover a broad spectrum of concerns, including avoiding a repeat of errors and inaccuracies from the 2020 Census, improving the rural count, testing and planning, using direct responses instead of statistical estimation and imputation, and other issues, looking both forward and backward. Read the full post: https://lnkd.in/gsmEcyKZ

"To fulfill its mission and pursue essential operational innovations, The Census Project recommends the U.S. Census Bureau receive $2.1 billion in Fiscal Year 2027 in the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill." Read The Census Project's full recommendation here: https://lnkd.in/eUCMjRHm

Congress Presses Ahead with Fiscal Year 2027 Appropriations Actions: Without the benefit of the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request, Congress is pressing ahead with its Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations deliberations. Leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees announced key deadlines for moving forward with the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations bill, which funds the U.S. Census Bureau. In the Senate, the CJS subcommittee has set Tuesday, April 14 as the deadline to receive members’ programmatic funding requests. In the House, the member’s submission deadline was March 13. Unofficially, it has been reported that the House Appropriations Committee plans to mark up its version of the Fiscal Year 2027 CJS appropriations bill in the subcommittee on May 7 and full committee on May 13. Read the full post: https://lnkd.in/g9yTB_Tw

Join Census Project Co-director Mary Jo Mitchell on Census Day 2026 (April 1) "for a national virtual convening that brings together leading voices across advocacy, policy, and local action to help you understand what’s changing – and what you can do now to prepare" for Census 2030. Hosted by Census Counts and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Details and registration info here: https://lnkd.in/gcPtJGTk

The End Prison Gerrymandering Act – H.R. 7375: Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC-02) introduced the End Prison Gerrymandering Act (H.R. 7375), legislation that would require that people in prison, for purposes of a decennial census, would be counted at their last usual place of residence before incarceration. The bill would add the following provision to Title 13: Read the full post: https://lnkd.in/guN52HxD

FAIR MAP Act – H.R. 7219: Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY-17) introduced the Fair Apportionment and Independent Redistricting for Maps that Avoid Partisanship Act (FAIR MAP Act) (H.R. 7219), legislation that would, among other provisions: (a) set requirements for the drawing of Congressional districts; (b) allow for only one round of Congressional redistricting following any decennial census; (c) require a decennial census question on whether someone is a citizen or a legal alien, and exclude “aliens without lawful status” from apportionment counts, starting with the 2030 Census; and (d) require cases challenging redistricting to be brought in a U.S. district court. H.R. 7219 would also prohibit states from using ranked choice voting in federal elections, require photo ID or signature verification for voting in Federal elections, and prohibit same-day voter registration for federal elections. The bill, which has one cosponsor, has been referred to the House Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform and Administration Committees. Read the full post: https://lnkd.in/gV4tG56u

FRN on the LUCA Operation for the 2030 Census: The U.S. Census Bureau seeks public comment on the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) operation by April 20, 2026. According to the Federal Register Notice, LUCA is a voluntary “opportunity provided by the U.S. Census Bureau to enable tribal, state, and general-purpose local governments to review and comment on the Census Address List for their respective jurisdictions prior to the decennial census. The Census Address List Improvement Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-430), codified at 13 U.S.C. 16, expanded the Census Bureau’s authority to share selected address information with tribal, state, and general-purpose local governments for the purpose of improving the residential address list. The LUCA operation … focuses on the review and submission of residential address information, including individual housing units, group quarters, and transitory locations, in support of a complete and accurate census count.” Read the full post: https://lnkd.in/gANHetzG

FRN for the Current Population Survey 2026 Field Test: The U.S. Census Bureau seeks public comment on the Current Population Survey (CPS) 2026 Field Test by May 4, 2026, which aims “to test the use of an internet self-response method to measure its success as a possible method of contact and interviewing with the goal of review accuracy, reporting, and representativeness. In addition, should it prove as a viable response method, the goal is to experiment with timing and contacts in order to refine procedures that best fit the needs of CPS. This is the second of two major field tests with the first completed in 2025, and an ultimate goal to phase in changes to the survey in 2027 through 2028.” Read the full post: https://lnkd.in/g9SA6_Gu

New Regulation Simplifies Rules for Requesting a Special Census: The rules on special censuses and programs have been simplified by the U.S. Census Bureau, effective February 20, 2026. Per the Federal Register Notice, “By this rule, the Census Bureau is amending its regulations governing requests and establishing fee structures for special census services and studies. This action is necessary to eliminate obsolete provision and streamline the Census Bureau’s regulations. This action is intended to promote simplicity and efficiency and to reduce the possibility of public confusion.” Read the full post: https://lnkd.in/g2iJH7xQ