LWVUS Sends Letter Opposing the Elimination of Census Committees

LWVUS sent a letter to the Secretary of Commerce disagreeing with the decision to eliminate the 2030 Census Bureau Advisory Committee, the Census Scientific Advisory Committee, and the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations. 

March 21, 2025

Dear Secretary Lutnick:

On behalf of the League of Women Voters of the United States (the League), we write to express our strong disagreement with the Department of Commerce's recent decision to eliminate the 2030 Census Bureau Advisory Committee, the Census Scientific Advisory Committee, and the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations. The purposes of these committees have not, in fact, "been fulfilled," as asserted by the Department. Thus, we urge reinstatement of these advisory committees to ensure an accurate, fair, and efficient 2030 Census.

The League is a 105-year-old nonpartisan nonprofit committed to ensuring everyone can fully participate in our democracy. We are a grassroots organization comprised of over one million members and supporters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia across more than 700 local and state Leagues. The League focuses on advocacy, education, litigation, and organizing to achieve our mission to empower voters and defend democracy. We base our work on our policy positions developed out of multi-year studies and derived through consensus by League membership to ensure our advocacy reflects best practices and a nationwide perspective.

The 2030 Census Advisory Committee, the Census Scientific Advisory Committee, and the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations are essential sources of expert and stakeholder recommendations that improve the decennial census's efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy. For over five decades, the Census Bureau has relied on these advisory committees to provide expert technical guidance and ensure that the decennial Census follows the best data collection practices. The elimination of these committees jeopardizes the quality of data the Census can collect. This ultimately affects the ability of federal agencies and branches of government to support the American people, who rely on accurate and high-quality data from the Bureau. 

Additionally, there is no conceivable federal savings to dismissing these advisory committees, as their members are unpaid. 

According to the Census Bureau, the 2030 Census Advisory Committee "will assist the Census Bureau in devising strategies to increase awareness of and participation in the next decennial census, reduce barriers to response, and enhance the public's trust and willingness to respond." Given the estimates following the 2020 Census about undercounts, difficulties reaching specific communities, and reported issues in completing the Census, the efforts of this advisory committee are needed now more than ever to ensure that learnings from the most recent Census are appropriately applied to the 2030 Census.

According to the Census Bureau, the purpose of the Census Scientific Advisory Committee “is to provide advice to the Director of the Census Bureau on the full range of Census Bureau programs and activities including communications, decennial, demographic, economic, field operations, geography, information technology, and statistics.”

Similarly, per the Census Bureau, the purpose of the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations "is to provide advice to the Director of the Census Bureau on the full range of economic, housing, demographic, socioeconomic, linguistic, technological, methodological, geographic, behavioral, and operational variables affecting the cost, accuracy, and implementation of Census Bureau programs and surveys, including the decennial census. This includes identifying new strategies for improved census operations and survey and data collection methods, including cost-efficient ways to increase census participation."

Given all the incredibly important roles played by each advisory committee, the Department’s conclusion that these groups have fulfilled their purposes is false. As indicated by the publicly scheduled advisory committee meetings, the groups’ work was in a phase that required, and still requires, multiple meetings a year to ensure that there are no gaps in the planning for the 2030 Census. Disbanding these important advisory committees will only undermine work currently being done in the planning stages of the 2030 Census. 

If we intend to have a full and accurate count of people living in the United States, as is mandated by the US Constitution, we must have input from the communities we seek to count. We are only five years out from the next Census, and it is well-known to those who are experienced in Census planning that there are necessary planning tasks every single year of the ten years leading up to the decennial Census —  many of which rely on the input from these advisory groups. Without accurate, quality data states, cities, and communities across the country may lose vital funding for critical infrastructure, health care, and education.

As a voting rights organization and champions of democracy, we are especially concerned about the effects of the decision to disband the advisory groups. These advisory committees are critical to ensuring the methods used by the Census Bureau mitigate undercounts and reach all peoples residing in the United States. When the data collected is accurate, the reapportionment process can be fair and accurate. 

For questions, please feel free to reach out via email to Jessica Jones, director of government affairs, at, [email protected], or direct inquiries to Kristen Kern, federal policy and advocacy manager, at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Celina Stewart
CEO
League of Women Voters of the US