The U.S. Census Bureau is reducing the scope of its 2026 census test, eliminating several planned test sites and making the online form available only in English. This decision raises concerns about the accuracy of the 2030 census, which is crucial for redistricting and federal funding allocation.
The U.S. Census Bureau's logo is featured on a black bag carried by a census worker knocking on doors in 2020 in Winter Park, Fla.The Trump administration is scaling back plans for this year's field test of the 2030 census , raising concerns about the Census Bureau's ability to produce a reliable population tally for redistributing political representation and federal funding in the next decade.
The 2026 test was designed to help the bureau improve the accuracy of the United States' upcoming once-a-decade head count. A mix of communities inBut the agency is now set to reduce the number of test sites to two — Huntsville, Ala., and Spartanburg, S.C. — while adding plans to tryof the census test's online form, which is now set to be available only in English. Households can start using the form to respond sometime in the spring, theSpokespeople for the bureau and its parent agency, the Commerce Department, did not immediately respond to NPR's questions, including those about what prompted these changes. In a statement Monday announcing the"launch of the 2026 Census Test," the bureau said it"remains committed to conducting the most accurate count in history for the 2030 Census and looks forward to the continued partnership with local communities."Among the locations no longer part of the census test are rural communities in western Texas and Indigenous tribal lands within Arizona and North Carolina. Those include the Fort Apache Reservation, home to the White Mountain Apache Tribe; San Carlos Reservation, home to the San Carlos Apache Tribe; and the Qualla Boundary, home to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.Terri Ann Lowenthal — a census consultant, who was once staff director of a former congressional subcommittee on the national count — calls this development on the road to the 2030 census"disheartening." "The descoped 2026 test plan is confusing and unclear to the public — a product, regrettably, of the administration pulling a black-out shade over all planning for 2030," Lowenthal said in a statement."Equally troubling, we already know from the last census that not fully evaluating promising new methods and improved operations, for example in rural areas and on American Indian reservations, can lead to a less accurate count in many communities."charged with overseeing its work and after the administration disbanded all the bureau's committees of outside advisers, who previously received periodic briefings on 2030 census planning during public meetings.In a statement, Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan said he was"alarmed" by the bureau's announcement about significantly cutting testing. "When the Census Bureau doesn't accurately count people, the communities most in need lose out on critical resources," said Peters, the top Democrat overseeing the bureau on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee."I have long pushed the Census Bureau to conduct robust testing of strategies to reach historically undercounted communities to ensure that every person gets counted. I urge the Census Bureau to reverse its decision and conduct the 2026 Census Test with all six of the communities as planned." Dante Moreno, a lobbyist for local governments at the National League of Cities, says leaders of some of the canceled test sites were informed of the bureau's changes on Monday after months without updates. The test's new focus on online census responses has now raised more concerns. "Rural areas in general are just less likely to have cell service or internet service. So how do you fill out those questionnaires? Or if your home is a mile away from another home, how do you make sure that people know that you exist there, that they know to come to you so you get counted?" Moreno says. Similar questions are on the minds of the Indigenous tribal leaders whose communities are no longer invited to participate in the test, says Saundra Mitrovich, a census consultant with the Native American Rights Fund, who co-leads the Natives Count Coalition. "Many of our native populations are also dealing with language assistance concerns. And when we can't rightly respond to that or participate in pulling together an operations plan that will address that adequately, then it becomes a challenge. Are you listening to our communities? Are you upholding that federal trust responsibility for tribes?" says Mitrovich, who is a tribal citizen of the Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California.in raising public awareness and finalizing a staffing plan, partly due to uncertain funding from Congress. And the bureau had beento approve a plan to contact administrators of college dorms, nursing homes and other group-living quarters to get ready for counting. The bureau's Monday announcement about its revised test plan makes no mention of group quarters. Bringing on Postal Service workers to help conduct the census test is expected to raise a raft of questions among both advocates of the count and USPS. A 2011found that replacing temporary census workers with higher-paid mail carriers is not cost-effective. Still, such a move has had the vocal support of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has claimed it could save the government money. USPS spokesperson Albert Ruiz referred NPR's questions, including whether postal workers would be expected to work for the census test in addition to their regular jobs, to the Commerce Department. "The United States Postal Service looks forward to participating in the 2026 Operational Test in Support of the 2030 Census," Ruiz added.Kennedy Center to close for 2 years for construction in July, Trump says KPBS keeps you informed with local stories you need to know about — with no paywall. Our news is free for everyone because people like you help fund it.Quality of Life
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