In Our View: Accuracy Key to Census

Clark County, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, is the fastest-growing county in the metro area. You probably already knew this, provided you have noticed the increasing traffic congestion and the lack of available housing. And, still, the numbers are eye-opening.

The Census Bureau estimates that Clark County added 9,095 people in 2017 — an increase of 1.95 percent to 474,643. As Nick Chun, manager of the Oregon Forecast Program at Portland State University, said: “That’s actually not surprising. All the projections have Clark County growing the fastest out of the seven counties.” By comparison, Multnomah County, home to the hotbed that is Portland, gained 6,016 people last year.

We could discuss the benefits — and the drawbacks — of such growth. But that is a discussion for another time, because we came to talk about the U.S. Census.

You see, the growth estimates are just that — estimates. Nothing becomes official until the 2020 census is conducted and tallied. It’s important, that census, so important that it is called for in the U.S. Constitution. Every 10 years, federal officials count the number of people in every nook and cranny across the country and use that information to determine things such as the number of congressional representatives for each state and the amount of funding for various programs.

Typically, the census is a nonpartisan afterthought that receives little attention. That is not the case as the government gears up for the 2020 count. On Tuesday, officials decided that census will include a question about citizenship status. Republicans say it makes sense to find out who is living in our communities and that the move will protect the Voting Rights Act. Democrats say it is an effort to intimidate immigrants and will lead to inaccurate counts in areas with large immigrant populations. Notably, that typically includes large cities that tend to support Democrats at election time.

There is plenty of room for debate surrounding the issue, but for any reasonable discussion to take place, honesty must be sacrosanct. In defending the action Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “This is a question that’s been included in every census since 1965, with the exception of 2010, when it was removed.” This is blatantly false; the citizenship question has not been included on the census since 1950.

In addition, suggesting that it is an effort to prevent voter fraud is specious. In 2017, President Trump convened a commission to examine voter fraud, and the commission disbanded this year after failing to uncover widespread malfeasance. The White House is simply placating supporters who insist on believing that voter fraud is pervasive, regardless of facts to the contrary.

If the motives were not so transparently political, we would be more likely to support inclusion of the citizenship question. As the nation grapples with serious questions about immigration, it is important to know the facts surrounding the issue. It is perfectly reasonable for the government to seek information about who is living in the United States, but concerns about whether that information will be used to target immigrants are understandable. Legal challenges to the question already have been filed.

In the end, the most important thing is to arrive at an accurate count in the 2020 census. Because there is no telling how many people will be added to Clark County between now and then.