The U.S. Census Bureau released their 2020 census questions, including one that asks whether respondents are legal U.S. citizens. Americans recognize the importance of the census and are on board with including the question moving forward.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 89% of American Adults agree it’s at least somewhat important for the government to get as accurate a count of the U.S. population as possible in the U.S. Census, including 69% who say it’s Very Important. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Stop ginning up hysteria: Citizenship question on census is nothing new
A question about citizenship was proposed for the first time in 1800 by Thomas Jefferson… The citizenship question recurred multiple times from 1820 to 1890. And from 1890 to 1950, it appeared on every census. Since then, it has been included on every long-form census questionnaire from 1970 to 2000. To this day, the question is still asked on the American Community Survey, an annual supplement to the decennial census. The citizenship question is not a new concept; it is the restoration of common sense.
AC