Nearly 150,000 comments were filed on the Census Bureau’s proposed 2030 Census rule before the comment period closed on November 2. Nobody could read them all, but who piped up says a lot. Members of Congress and mayors, tribal nations and business groups, statisticians and Catholic bishops all made their case.
As a reminder, the proposed rule would:
- Exclude any noncitizens who don’t hold green cards from the apportionment count;
- Redefine “usual residence” as the place a person lawfully spent the most days between January 3 and April 1 of the census year instead of a Census Day, to be backed up by tax records such as W-2s; and
- Bar race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation questions from the 2030 questionnaire.
The Census Project codirectors recently discussed the 2030 Census proposed rule on the Federal News Network.
The public originally had just 33 days to respond, until the Bureau extended the deadline from October 13 to November 2. Most of the comments filed opposed the rule.
Congress and the states: Policymakers at nearly every level filed comments, including:
- Bipartisan comments from 26 U.S. Senators;
- Comments from 153 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives opposed the rule and 45 House Republicans commented in support; and
- Comments from 26 state Attorneys General.
Cities and counties: Local governments live with census numbers for a decade, from federal funding formulas to planning roads and emergency services. The National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and International City/County Management Association filed jointly, and the National Association of Counties weighed in as well.
Tribal nations: Native Americans and tribes filed a large number of comments, such as those from the National Congress of American Indians.
Civil rights groups: More than 200 advocacy groups joined comments led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Professional societies: Professional societies including the American Statistical Association and the Population Association of America raised concerns.
The private sector: Fourteen U.S. business organizations joined comments focused specifically on the elimination of race and ethnicity questions, data that companies use to understand their markets.
Religious groups: Multiple religious organizations weighed in, such as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Former Census Directors: Six former Census Bureau directors flagged concerns with the rule, primarily from a procedural standpoint.
Conservative think tanks: Some think tanks came out in support of the proposal. Don Palmer of The Heritage Foundation supported the rule, and Hans von Spakovsky of Advancing American Freedom argued the rule should go further, excluding green card holders and adding a citizenship question.
What comes next: The Bureau, in coordination with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), now has to review and respond to the comments before it can issue a final rule, and the rule is widely expected to face legal challenges. Meanwhile, Congress, which has final authority over the census, is due to receive the Bureau’s list of planned 2030 question topics by April 1, 2027, and bills to add a citizenship question and exclude noncitizens from apportionment are pending in the U.S. House and Senate. Keep following The Census Project as it all unfolds.
