11/2/2020: The Silver Lining of the 2020 Census by Kenneth Prewitt, Former Census Bureau Director

……..Of course, the census has always and always will be political. However, it has always and always will be scientific, the latter dependent on quality indicators. What I see as a silver lining in 2020 is that what had been largely invisible is now very visible. As the field operations wind down, the centrality of quality indicators in the census process is being prominently highlighted. Going forward, this centrality will be protected by census stakeholders, will be demanded by census data users, will be improved by academics, will be discussed and debated in the press, will be legally protected and will find its way into legislation. In time, the results of the quality checks will be viewed as no less important than enumeration itself.