Democratic lawmakers worry minorities will be undercounted in 2020 census

WASHINGTON — In one week, Americans across the country will start getting notices in the mail informing people to fill out the 2020 census online and some Democratic lawmakers are worried minorities will be undercounted.

Black and Hispanic communities were undercounted in the 2010 census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Congressional Tri-Caucus, made up of members from the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, created a task force which is going into communities most vulnerable of being under represented to make sure people understand the importance of filling out the form.

READ MORE: Elizabeth Warren exits 2020 presidential race

The census data determines billions of dollars in funding for schools, roads, hospitals and more.

It also affects Congressional and legislative districts.

"There's a lot at stake for the Latino community,” former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro said. "For example, Texas is expected to get three new Congressional seats after the next census but if people are fearful of filling out the census form, if there's a severe undercount in the Latino community in Texas or in other places, that means our state could lose out on Congressional representation."

"Even though the citizenship question is not on the form, so much publicity happened around it and we are very concerned that people will be afraid of the census,” Rep. Karen Bass (D-California) said.

The U.S. Census Bureau said it does not share the information with law enforcement or any other government agency.

The 2010 census undercounted 2.1 percent of the black population and 1.5 percent of the Hispanic population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

READ MORE: Woman arrested after nearly 120 false voter registration applications filed in Lake County

The white population was overcounted by 0.8 percent.

The census notices will start going out on March 12 informing people to fill out the form online.

People who ignore the notices will get reminders in the mail and eventually a paper form which can be submitted.

The U.S. Census Bureau released the following statement:

“We are implementing a robust communications campaign and working with communities across the country to communicate that responding to the census is safe, easy, and important. We will spend $500 million on marketing and advertising, up from $376 million in 2010. The 2020 Census paid media campaign is spending more on the Black and African American audiences than we did in 2010. In 2010 we spent $28.4 million on ads for this audience and in 2020 we plan to spend $37.9 million. The Census Bureau is also conducting outreach to engage and motivate the public to respond including Black and African American audiences. These partnership staff are hired locally to engage with the communities we are working to reach, especially the historically undercounted population. In addition, in areas less likely to respond online we are sending paper questionnaires in their first invitation. Anyone can respond to the census online, by phone or by mail.”

© 2020 Cox Media Group