Update: The U.S. Supreme Court officially ruled Tuesday, Oct. 13, that the Trump administration may officially end the census early, though many critics have voiced outcry that this decision comes at the cost of accuracy and fairness.
Only last week, The Malibu Times reported that a federal judge named Lucy Koh from San Jose had issued an injunction that would revert the census to an earlier schedule that would have had it end on Saturday, Oct. 31, instead of this Thursday, Oct. 15.
Originally extended to accommodate the pandemic, the 2020 census had been the subject of a series of legal battles which resulted in about two extra weeks of data collection, a fact The Associated Press characterized as a win for opponents of the Trump administration.
“However,” Mike Schneider of The Associated Press wrote, “the ruling increased the chances of the Trump administration retaining control of the process that decides how many congressional seats each state gets—and by extension how much voting power each state has.” Along with congressional seats, census data is also utilized to determine the allocation of federal funding.
As in years prior, Malibu has reported one of the lowest response rates in the country, according to data from the census. While the self-response rate statewide is 69.3 percent, Malibu’s self-response rate is just 41.7 percent.
The deadline for the 2020 U.S. Census was extended from Wednesday, Sept. 30, to Saturday, Oct. 31, according to a ruling by federal judge Lucy Koh of San Jose. Koh’s injunction is the latest in a series of legal battles surrounding the count this year, which have resulted in the period of data collection for the census shifting more than once.
That means Malibu residents have additional time to submit their census forms. As in years prior, Malibu has reported one of the lowest response rates in the country, according to data from the census. While the self-response rate statewide is 69.3 percent, Malibu’s self-response rate is just 41.6 percent.
The census is used to determine how federal funding is distributed and how much representation an area has in government—things like house seats.
Any Malibu residents who have yet to submit their census forms can do so by visiting 2020census.gov.