Speak up for Maine Communities Before October 13

In 1790, the first U.S. Census decided whose lives and bodies counted and for how much. Those choices not only were shaped by the injustices of the day, they also helped to build the foundation of injustices we’re still living with. That’s because the census is how we decide who gets represented in Congress, and what resources our communities need. Now the Census Bureau is proposing new rules for 2030 that would count fewer Mainers, leading to less access to federal funding and other resources, and not count race at all. The proposed rule was published on September 10, and the comment period closes on October 13.

Here are just some of the things that would change:

1. Many people wouldn’t be counted at all.

   People with work and student visas, and people who’ve come here to build new lives after escaping natural disasters, violence, and oppression would be dropped from the count. That means the communities they live in would show fewer people using roads, public safety, schools, and health care. Lower populations means communities would lose access to funding to support those resources.

2. Many people would get counted in the wrong place.

   People who spend the winter in warmer climates, college students, and military servicemembers could only be counted based on where they spend the winter and their tax-filing address. That means every Mainer who goes to Florida from January - March would get counted in Florida, and their community in Maine would show a lower population, and get less access to funding.

3. The census would stop counting race and ethnicity altogether.

   Nearly all surveys that help us understand racial inequality and community needs are weighted using racial and ethnic identity information collected by the census. The lack of information would impact public health, civil rights, business decisions, and more.

Our Data Justice report explains how data can be used and misused to tell stories about people, our communities, and society as a whole. When small communities, like small rural towns and communities of color, are left out of the count, that invisibility shapes everything that follows: funding formulas, grant eligibility, school resources, health investments, and more all depend on the story told by the census. Mainers deserve a say in what gets counted and the story it's used to tell. The comment period ends on October 13. Find out more about the rule and how to submit your public comment at Hands Off Our Census.