Between 2010 and 2020, about 20% of La Paz County residents disappeared from towns like Parker and Quartzsite, according to the U.S. Census. The idea is “ridiculous,” said county supervisor Deuce Minor when the numbers were released last summer. But Trump administration interference for political reasons has made the 2020 Census inaccuracy an even bigger problem than one that affects La Paz County alone.
According to new figures for 2020, La Paz county has a population of 16,557, down from 20,489 a decade ago. But even the Census Bureau’s estimates of the county’s population appear to challenge the census. In 2019, the Secretariat estimated that La Paz’s population would increase to 21,108, rather than decrease.
Why it matters: Census results will play a key role in determining how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds, including state, county, and community grants and assistance, will be spent over the next decade fulfill. Help communities get their fair share of schools, hospitals, roads, public works, programs, and more. This number is used by nonprofits and even large corporations to decide where to allocate resources.
Former President Trump had limited opportunities for his administration to fundamentally reshape the future of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Electoral College, prompting the Census Bureau to rush the count and give him time to do his job during the election. urged to shorten Pandemic year. The move sparked public outcry, including a federal lawsuit that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a private email to civil servants in September 2020, Deputy Executive Director Ron Jermyn said the government had achieved an “unprecedented” and “abnormally” high level of “technical “Involvement in social issues”.Document first reported by new york timesdetails a wide range of the Administration’s interventions, including interventions in methodologies and procedures to fill data gaps, review error counts, and protect the confidentiality of people’s information. wanted to keep permit immigrants out of census numbers, with results generally in favor of Republicans.
Findings from the agency’s own follow-up survey of Americans were released a few weeks ago and suggest there are many inaccuracies in the results of the 2020 Census, not just in La Paz County, but across the country.The Brookings Institution According to William H. Frey, Senior Fellow at The Census, the census “quite likely is the least accurate census in modern memory.” Also, the numbers of blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans were greatly reduced.
The impact on La Paz county became apparent in the first concrete way when questionable new population numbers triggered redistricting. Unless you don’t, you can leave the district boundaries set. But Trump’s Census figures show the county’s population is down about 20%, so the map needs to be redrawn.
The first step in the process is to use an external consultant to present the map to the Supervisory Board for their opinion. A public comment period and further steps will then follow.
La Paz County, already the second smallest county in Arizona, suffers from chronic underfunding problems due to its very high proportion of state land and correspondingly low tax base.
