Many factors contributed to the historic barriers to participation in the 2020 census compared to previous years. These barriers made the field organizers who help convince people to participate in the census even more important.
Field organizers work to create community partnerships, which help build trust and understanding of the census. Now, three former field organizers for the 2020 census in Wisconsin are claiming that the Census Bureau committed fraud by instructing employees to sign up community partners without their knowledge or consent, which could have contributed to an undercount of Wisconsin communities.
Former field worker and Wisconsin census gatherer, Jerry Huffman is one of the three whistle blowers.
According to Huffman, an accurate count of the census is important because the census is used to determine many factors that heavily impact a community such as the location of hospitals and roads. Despite its importance, Huffman is aware of the mistrust that some people have toward the census and seeks to clarify what the census is intended to do.
"So much of the mistrust is misplaced. We were bound by federal law to protect the information. I'm not going to call the police. I'm not going to call your landlord. We could care less," says Huffman.
The field worker's role is based on honesty and earning people's trust, which can take time. Huffman says the motivation to get more partners quickly led to the census bureau's fraudulent activity. Huffman says, "They called in the entire Wisconsin team of partnership specialists. They took us off the street where we were doing our best work and said find more partners."
Huffman believes that this emphasis on increasing numbers created a disparity between people that were willingly added and people who were unknowingly added to the census. "They wanted numbers — pure numbers of partnerships, and every state did it," he says.
Yet, a willful partnership would look as simple as a school willingly putting up census posters or holding an event. But he explains that the reason behind pumping up the number of partnerships is tied to a political agenda—promising Congress a certain amount of partnerships.
Huffman reflects on his experience compiling the census information and says, "When I'm sitting in an office listing John Doe from the Trempealeau County Board who I met once and said hi and I put him down as a partner — it's a lie."
After filing a whistle blower complaint that's been rejected, Huffman now wants the governing offices and higher powers to hold the census accountable by requiring them to verify the census's reported information.
"Wisconsin supposedly had an increase of about 3% [in the census]," Huffman says. "Prove it, show me your math. Convince me it's accurate. We deserve better. Our tax dollars were on the line,"
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