Every State, Every Vote: Gov. Kate Brown and Bipartisan Coalition of Governors Call on Federal Government to Restore the Census Deadline

Brown: “The decennial census is the foundation of our democracy and tells the story of who we are and where we are going as a nation.”

Yesterday, Every State, Every Vote Co-Chair Oregon Gov. Kate Brown called on U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Willbur Ross Jr. and U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham to restore the deadline for the United States 2020 Census. Gov. Brown was joined by a bipartisan coalition made up of governors from Colorado, Washington, Michigan, Illinois, North Carolina, New York, and Vermont.

Last month the Census Bureau, at the direction of President Trump, moved up the Census response collection deadline an entire month earlier. This last-minute change could significantly harm historically undercounted and underfunded communities and result in an inaccurate Census count.

A complete and accurate count is vital to ensuring fair and equal representation and distribution of federal funding for the next decade.

Read more about the bipartisan letter below and learn about how Democratic governors are fighting for an accurate Census count and fair representation for every community at EveryStateEveryVote.com.

KATU: Oregon, Washington governors want 2020 census deadline back to Oct. 31

Governors Kate Brown and Jay Inslee are urging the 2020 census deadline be pushed back to make sure everyone is able to complete the count.

The census was originally supposed to end in July, but the U.S. Census Bureau pushed the deadline back to October 31 to accommodate employees during the pandemic.

The bureau brought the deadline up to September 30.

The governors of Oregon and Washington join other bipartisan governors in saying the deadline should remain October 30.

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MI News 26: Gov. Whitmer and Governors from Across the Country Urge the Census Bureau to Restore October 31 Deadline

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has teamed up with governors across the country to extend the collection of census responses.

The group of governors include Oregon Governor Kate Brown, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, and Vermont Governor Phil Scott. 

The governors sent a letter to the  U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Commerce requesting to reinstate the census collection and response period to October 31st. 

This comes after the Census Bureau slashed the period by an entire month. 

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Officials say historically, the U.S. Census has undercounted minorities, immigrants, those living in poverty, and young children. 

State officials say the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed, confirmed, and highlighted pre-existing inequities in Michigan and disproportionately affected communities of color making it all the more important that these populations are counted.  

Patch: Whitmer, Others Urge Census Bureau To Restore October Deadline

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined several other governors from around the U.S. Tuesday in sending a joint letter to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Commerce urging them to reinstate the census collection and response period to Oct. 31.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently slashed the period by an entire month, bringing the early deadline to Sept. 30.

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