From Keystone Counts (https://www.keystonecounts.org/):
The Census 2020 Complete Count Commission, which comprises 43 commissioners, government officials, community stakeholders and other statewide organizations, including Keystone Counts, today called for the state to include funding in the 2019-20 General Fund budget to ensure a fair and accurate count in the 2020 census.
Read the Keystone Counts release HERE.
The census directs billions of dollars in federal aid to states and determines legislative representation nationwide. Pennsylvania has a vested interest in making sure every resident is counted to ensure our commonwealth gets its fair share and citizens have fair representation.
Pennsylvania currently receives more than $39.2 billion annually through census-backed programs, according to the George Washington University Institute of Public Policy, meaning an undercount could cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
An undercount also could affect Pennsylvania’s congressional standing. Pennsylvania easily could lose one or more of its 18 representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives, which could mean the loss of one or more of the state’s 20 electoral votes. The census also has a direct impact on how new Pennsylvania state house and senate districts are redrawn in 2021.
Other states like Illinois, New York, Maryland and California are allocating funds, understanding what an undercount could mean. Pennsylvania should do the same. What happens with this census becomes our reality for the next decade, and that could have serious repercussions if it isn’t done right.
If you want to support this effort, please take action at https://pahealth.salsalabs.org/census2020action/index.html by telling your lawmakers that you want the state to allocate funds in the 2019-20 General Fund to ensure a fair and accurate census.
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