Fight over race questions intensifies ahead of 2030 Census deadline
Summary
The Census Bureau has proposed removing race and ethnicity questions from the 2030 Census, drawing more than 108,000 public comments by late October. The agency says a shorter form and greater use of government records could encourage responses, while civil rights advocates warn that records-based estimates may be less accurate and give the government more control over how people are classified.Key Facts
- The Census Bureau proposed in September to stop asking about race and ethnicity on the once-a-decade census.
- The comment deadline was extended from Oct. 13 to Nov. 2.
- An analysis of 52,424 published comments through Oct. 16 found 86% opposed the overall proposal; 88% addressed removing race and ethnicity questions.
- Advocates tracking the federal docket said submissions had topped 108,000 by the week before the article was published.
- The proposal would not end federal collection of race data; the Census Bureau could use government records and continue asking these questions in the American Community Survey and other surveys.
- Race has appeared in some form in every decennial census since 1790.
- The number of people reporting two or more races rose from 9 million, or 2.9% of the population, in 2010 to 33.8 million, or 10.2%, in 2020.
- The proposal does not explain how the bureau would produce detailed racial population counts without asking people to identify themselves, or whether record-based estimates would replace their answers.
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