CBS News: Census delays could take toll on states

Though the Census Bureau reversed its decision to delay reporting data from the 2020 Census to states, experts warn states should still prepare for delays, which will in turn slow the process of redrawing their legislative and congressional districts.

The census results are used for apportionment, which determines how many congressional districts each state is allotted according to its population. For instance, the outcome of the 2010 Census meant that Texas gained four seats, and Florida gained two seats, while New York and Ohio each lost two seats in the House of Representatives.

The onset of COVID-19 stalled data collection for three months, and the Census Bureau has relied heavily on virtual outreach to remind people to respond. Field work has resumed now, and census takers are visiting households of those who have not yet responded. So far, the bureau says 65% of households have responded, and field collection is scheduled to end on September 30. Initially, the coronavirus prompted the bureau to delay its data collection deadline to October 31, and its delivery of the apportionment counts to the president to the end of April 2021. States were expecting to receive this data by July 31, 2021.

But the Census Bureau then decided to compress its timeline, ending field data collection a month early, in September 2020. The deadlines for apportionment and redistricting data were slashed by four months, and states are now set to receive their data by March 31, 2021.

This would also mean that President Trump would receive the apportionment data by the end of this year. Mr. Trump issued a memo in July saying that undocumented immigrants would be excluded from the apportionment count. …

Several Democratic governors, and Republican Vermont Governor Phil Scott, sent a joint letter to the Census Bureau and Commerce Department asking them to extend census data collection to October 31, 2020.

Changes in the federal census timeline are also closely watched in California, which because of its size and population, tends to receive its data later. Its constitution sets a deadline of August 15, 2021 to receive data in order to draw new maps, though the legislature is mulling a delay until December 2021. California is also considering postponing its 2022 primaries from March until June 2022.

“You need to cement districts ahead of time, so candidates know where they’re running, said Kathay Feng, the national redistricting director at Common Cause, a government watchdog organization.