NEWS27 November 2019
US – While most Americans are willing to participate in the 2020 census, there is still reluctance among certain groups, driven by distrust of the government and concerns over data confidentiality, according to a survey.
Over half of participants ( 58%) said they “definitely will participate” in the decennial census next year, according to an online survey from non-partisan organisation the Committee to Protect Article 1 of the Constitution.
However, four in 10 overall are unsure about the census, with the research finding that this uncertainty was higher among young adults, Asian-American, African-American and Muslim-American groups.
Young adults were the least likely of all age groups to say they would definitely take part in the national survey ( 29% of 18-24s and 52% of 25-34s), with willingness to participate increasing with age.
Over half ( 53%) of both Muslim-Americans and Black or African-Americans surveyed said they would definitely take part, compared to 63% of Spanish-speaking Latinos, 58% of English-speaking Latinos and fewer than half ( 49%) of Asian-Americans.
Almost half ( 49%) of participants agreed with the statement ‘The government will do whatever it wants regardless of the data’, with this sentiment over 50% among Latinos, African-Americans, Muslim-Americans and young adults aged 18-34.
Meanwhile, a third ( 35%) agree that ‘My personal information will be used against me by the government’ – increasing to 50% of Muslim Americans.
Between 3rd-24th October, Article 1 conducted an online survey with 1,499 members of the general population, with over-sample of 300 English-speaking Latinos, 300 Spanish-speaking Latinos, 400 Muslim-Americans, and 200 Asian-Americans. The margin of error for the general population is +/-2.5%, and the margin of error is higher for the different subgroups.