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U.S. NEWS Friday 16 OctOber 2020
Scramble to get people counted as 2020 census winds down

By MIKE SCHNEIDER used for apportionment,
Associated Press no matter who wins next
Census advocates across month's presidential elec-
the nation made last-ditch tion. Opponents fear the
efforts Thursday to get as administration will depart
many households to an- from past practice and
swer the 2020 census, which leave out people who are
has been challenged by a in the U.S. illegally — Trump
pandemic, natural disas- has directed the Census
ters, court fights and the Bureau to do just that for
Trump administration's push the apportionment count,
to have it end a month ear- but that currently is being
lier than planned. fought in court. The Trump
The tally was mandated to administration earlier had
halt at 11:59 p.m. Hawaii tried to get a citizenship
Standard Time on Thursday question on the 2020 cen-
— 5:59 a.m. Friday for peo- sus questionnaire but was
ple living on the East Coast blocked by the Supreme
— but questions lingered This Sunday, April 5, 2020, file photo shows an envelope containing a 2020 census letter mailed to Court last year.
a U.S. resident in Detroit.
about deadlines and who Associated Press Advocates still hold out
gets counted when con- hope that Congress will
gressional seats are allot- with Common Cause, the "Our phone banking team extra two days, according pass legislation that will ex-
ted. good-government advo- scrambled to put together to some census takers. In tend the apportionment
Advocates are particularly cacy group. one final push," Guevara Arkansas, an operation to deadline from Dec. 31 to
worried that minorities, and In Rhode Island, advo- said. send people into hard-to- the end of next April in or-
people in rural and tribal cates went to bus hubs in The census is used to deter- count neighborhoods was der to give the Census Bu-
areas, are going to be Providence to make sure mine how $1.5 trillion in fed- suspended two days be- reau enough time to check
missed due to the rushed people had filled out the eral spending is distributed fore the count was ending. the quality of the data, re-
ending of the count, result- forms that ask about the annually, as well as how Thursday's deadline came move duplications and fill
ing in less federal funding makeup of their house- many congressional seats after the Supreme Court in missing information with
for those communities and holds. Armed with tablets each state gets in a pro- ruled in favor of the Trump administrative records.
perhaps fewer congres- to help residents answer cess called apportionment. administration, which had The Census Bureau originally
sional seats and electoral the questionnaire online, Tens of thousands of tem- argued the census needed had allotted five months for
votes for states that have teams of advocates in New porary census takers had to end immediately in or- the data processing phase,
large minority populations. York City went canvassing been hired by the U.S. Cen- der for the Census Bureau but that time period shrinks
Census advocates who in neighborhoods in Brook- sus Bureau to knock on the to have enough time to to less than three months
had been planning on two lyn and Queens. In Detroit, doors of homes whose resi- process the data to meet a if the statistical agency
more weeks to encour- residents were being given dents hadn't filled out their congressionally mandated tries to meet the Dec. 31
age people to answer the the chance to win $25 gift census forms. On Thursday, Dec. 31 deadline for turn- deadline. Advocates and
census found themselves cards in exchange for driv- many filled out employee ing in apportionment num- users of census data worry
scrambling after the Su- ing to a church parking lot exit surveys and turned in bers. Associate Justice So- that isn't enough time, and
preme Court ruled on Tues- to fill out their census forms. the mobile devices they'd nia Sotomayor dissented, even some of the Census
day that the Trump admin- In Los Angeles, Esperanza used while canvassing. saying that minorities and Bureau's top brass said this
istration could end the na- Guevara, the census cam- After the Supreme Court others "will disproportion- summer that it would be im-
tion's head count this week. paign manager for the ruling, the Census Bureau ately bear the burden of possible to meet the Dec.
"Everybody is leaning in Coalition for Humane Im- said it would still be gather- any inaccuracies." 31 deadline. They later re-
hard to try to make sure migrant Rights, was lead- ing data through Thursday, By sticking to the Dec. 31 vised their statements to
they can reach as many ing phone-banking efforts but it stopped some opera- deadline, the Trump ad- say it could be done if the
people as possible," said to encourage people to fill tions on the spot without ministration would end up count had stopped at the
Kathay Feng, an official out the census form. taking advantage of the controlling the numbers beginning of the month.q

Minnesota town residents oppose church listed as hate group

MURDOCK, Minn. (AP) — for a special City Council statement on its website,
Residents packed a town meeting Wednesday night, it's pro-white. The Southern
hall in a tiny western Min- wearing masks and sitting Poverty Law Center has
nesota community to voice 6 feet (1.8 meters) apart to added the AFA to its list of
opposition to plans by a help prevent the spread of hate groups.
controversial Nordic heri- the coronavirus. Most op- Murdock resident Pete Ken-
tage church that has been posed the AFA's permit re- nedy said he doesn't want
identified as a white su- quest. his hometown to be known
premacist group. AFA board member Allen as the hate capital of Min-
The Asatru Folk Assembly Turnage told the crowd the nesota, the Star Tribune re-
bought an abandoned Lu- church would not admit ported.
theran church in the Swift a Black person "because The council plans to vote
County town of Murdock they're not of northern Eu- on the church's permit at a
and wants a permit to turn ropean descent." Nov. 4 meeting. Lawyer and member of the Asatru Folk Assembly Allen Turnage
it into a Midwest regional The AFA is among groups Turnage said the AFA has answers questions from the public during a city council meeting,
gathering hall. that seek to practice a pre- about 500 members na- Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, in Murdock, Minn., on the proposal to
grant a permit to the Asatru Folk Assembly to use an old church
Nearly 50 people in the Christian, European spiritu- tionwide, and 20 or so in they bought that only has a residential permit.
town of 275 filled the hall ality and, according to a and around Minnesota.q Associated Press