Every ten years, Americans fill out a national survey called the census. The census contains demographic questions, such as respondents’ race, ethnicity, and age. In addition to revealing the number of people living in the United States (based on the number of people who filled out the census), census results help determine how many representatives in Congress each state gets, how districts are drawn, and how much government aid each state receives. In other words, the accuracy and efficacy of our representative democracy rely on the census being filled out by as many people as possible—ideally, by every resident of the United States.

However, the census has recently been under attack. In 2019, former President Donald Trump proposed that the 2020 census ask whether the respondent is a citizen of the United States. This ended up being blocked by the Supreme Court, but if it hadn’t been, undocumented immigrants would have been scared away from filling out the census, as they would have had to risk deportation in order to recieve the representation and aid each person deserves. Trump also pushed to end the 2020 census count early, knowing that it would leave Democratic-leaning Americans, including communities of color and low-income communities, uncounted and thus unrepresented. This was not blocked by the Supreme Court.  

As bad as this sounds, it gets worse: even without Trump in office, low-income neighborhoods and people of color are consistently undercounted in the census due to issues with census outreach, as well as deeper structural problems. For example, in the 2010 census, 9% of Black people—about 3.8 million people—went uncounted (bostonglobe.com), and this was actually an improvement over previous censuses. 

Clearly, reform of the census process is long overdue. In Massachusetts, this reform has shown up in the bill S.490/H.808. 

What is S.490/H.808? 

The full name of this bill is “An Act to ensure a complete, accurate, and equitable census count”. Introduced by Senator Rebecca L. Raush, Representative David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf, and Senator James B. Eldridge in March 2021, the bill is also known as S.490 (Senate bill number 490) and H.808 (House bill number 808).

If passed, S.490/H.808 would create the Massachusetts Census Equity Commission, a group dedicated to counting all Massachusetts residents completely and equitably in the census, with a focus on the marginalized communities that are often undercounted. 

A large part of the bill ensures that the commission includes a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences by laying out requirements for its members—because it will be conducting outreach to as many communities as possible, it is crucial that the commission is diverse. For example, the twenty-nine person commission must include a Senate member of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, a House member of the Asian Legislative Caucus, a member of the Wampanoag tribe, a person representing those with disabilities, and a person who represents young people, among many other designations. 

The goals of the Massachusetts Census Equity Commission are: 1) to make Massachusetts residents, especially those in undercounted communities, more aware of the census, 2) to teach Massachusetts residents why the census is so important, 3) to counter misperceptions of negative repercussions of filling out the census, and 4) to ensure that undercounted communities are engaged in counting the census. 

To accomplish its goals, the Massachusetts Census Equity Commission will communicate with Massachusetts residents by participating in programs at schools, partnering with community-based and non-profit programs, and conducting a “multi-lingual, multi-media, multi-platform campaign” (malegislature.gov).

In a perfect world, every resident of Massachusetts would be counted in the census, which is the overarching goal that S.490/H.808 is working towards. However, barriers such as distrust of the government, language differences, and not counting all students and inmates have prevented us from reaching that goal already. S.490/H.808 acknowledges these barriers, and promises that the census outreach programs developed and implemented by the Massachusetts Census Equity Commission will take them into account.

Why do we need S.490/H.808? 

The census makes the country more democratic by making representation in government as accurate as possible. The number of people each state sends to the House of Representatives is based on states’ populations, which are determined by the census. When population shifts, the 435 House seats are reapportioned accordingly. The more people go uncounted in a state, the more representation that state loses. In other words, when people don’t fill out the census, their voice—and the voice of every other resident of their state—is heard less in Congress and reflected less in the laws of the country. 

Similarly, shifting populations within a state, as determined by the census, are used to guide the state’s redistricting. We already face problems with redistricting being used for partisan power grabs, and when fewer people fill out the census, redistricting becomes even less accurate. 

In addition to helping to provide their community with proportionate representation, people who fill out the census help their community get the government aid it needs. Census data about population, race, sex, and age are factors in the government budget for the next decade; for example, states receive grants for schools, public works, low-income childcare, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and much more based on their census data. For every person who doesn’t fill out the census, states receive $2400 less in federal funding over the following decade. This aid is often needed most in undercounted communities, but because they are undercounted, they will continue to be underfunded.    

When children aren’t counted, their schools receive less money. Black children are twice as likely to not be counted in the census as non-Black children, which perpetuates the educational inequalities Black children face. Children who attend schools with less funding will, through no fault of their own, have a harder time reaching educational success and landing a well-paying job in the future, so when Black children’s schools receive less funding due to undercounting in the census, cycles of poverty are perpetuated. 

Filling out the census is incredibly important, but Massachusetts has some serious problems with counting the census fully and equitably. 23% of Massachusetts residents live in “hard-to-count” areas. “Hard-to-count” people include those who rent a home (which is common among Black people because of years of discriminatory housing practices), live in homes with non-standard addresses (such as reservations where many Native American people live), or distrust the government (which is common among Latinos because of fears of deportation). Because many people of color are classified as “hard-to-count” and Massachusetts has a large share of hard-to-count people, we need census reform that will prioritize outreach to “hard-to-count” communities. We need S.490/H.808.

No progress on S.490/H.808 has been posted on the website of the Massachusetts Legislature since the hearing was scheduled for October 2021, but that doesn’t mean that hope is lost for a census reform bill. Influential people in the state are on the side of this bill: Mayor Marty Walsh and Senator Ed Markey publicly supported a complete and equitable census in 2020 by speaking out against Trump's efforts to end the census early and calling for the U.S. Senate to extend the census deadline. Furthermore, bills often resurface in multiple sessions of the state legislature, so even if this version of the bill has died, a similar bill could very well be introduced in the future. 

And we need a bill like this to pass. Even before Donald Trump launched discriminatory attacks on the census, many problems existed with the census-counting process, leading to and perpetuating inequalities in Massachusetts and every other state. And in Massachusetts, racial inequalities are extreme. For example, in Boston, the average net worth of a white family is $247,500, as compared to $8 for a Black family (michelleforboston.com). Because census reform is a powerful step towards getting traditionally undercounted communities the funding and representation they deserve, it will help begin to dismantle these inequalities. 

Everyone has a part to play in working towards a more complete and equitable census. First, we must fill out the census! In 2020, Americans ages 18-29 were the age group least likely to fill out the census (Pew Research Center), and in 2030, the next census year, we must change that. In addition, it is crucial to spread the word about the need for S.490/H.808 or other Massachusetts census reform bills to friends and family and to our representatives in the state legislature. 

With census reform, a more democratic and equal society can be ours, if only we work for it.