March 29, 2018

Trump’s Plan to Rig the Census, Explained

This video lays out the incredibly high stakes for the 2020 census.

Budget cuts. Major cybersecurity risks. No permanent leadership. And now a question about US citizenship that could massively depress responses from immigrants. The 2020 census is facing a perfect storm of problems.

The last census, in 2010, failed to count 1.5 million people of color, while overcounting white Americans. That undercount of minorities and immigrants could get much worse under President Donald Trump and shift economic and political power to whiter and more Republican areas.

The addition of the citizenship question on Monday night sparked an immediately outcry from Democratic state officials and civil rights groups. California became the first state to sue the Trump administration over the question, and at least 12 states have pledged to follow suit. The NAACP also filed suit on Wednesday.

The stakes for democracy could not be higher. As I explain in this video, “If Republicans rig the census, there are no do-overs.” Give it a watch, and then read my big feature story on the census, “Hidden Figures: How Donald Trump Is Rigging the Census,” which will appear in the next issue of the magazine.

Video produced by Mark Helenowski and James West

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Take the next step: Help us fight for the truth.

Investigative journalism, like the story you just read, takes time to do. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices

We can afford to take that time because we don’t report to an oligarch or corporation with a special agenda. We report to you, and for you. That’s why we unabashedly pursue the truth and relentlessly shine a light into the darkness.

In this month’s Summer Membership Drive, we’ve got to raise $200,000 to support more crucial investigations. This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. We cannot do this work without you.

So, we’re asking: Will you support independent journalism that demands those in power answer for their actions?

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