A vector of a man holding up a sign with the words CENSUS. (Photo: AdobeStock)

Two-thirds (66%) of American adults support the government posing a citizenship question on the U.S. Census, a new Rasmussen Reports poll finds.

In March 2018, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra became the first of 19 Democrats to sue the Trump Administration over the decision to ask about citizenship status in the 2020 Census.

Only 23% disagree with the Trump Administration’s decision, and 11% are undecided. Nevertheless, a federal judge in New York ruled against the administration, despite a clear history of posing a citizenship question.

Historically, the U.S. asked a citizenship question from 1820 to 1950. The Commerce Department also noted that the citizenship question would be the same as the one posed in the annual American Community Survey (ACS).”

The major difference is the sample size, with the ACS being a much smaller percentage of households than the actual census.

The U.S. Census collects population data used to determine representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Further, federal spending is allocated based on data collected by the U.S. Census.

Data collected also determines how many electoral votes each state will send to the Electoral College. Without a citizenship question, illegal immigrants do in fact impact U.S. elections, whether they vote or not.

An overwhelming majority, at 89%, think it’s important for the government to get as accurate a count of the U.S. population as possible in the Census, including 67% who say it’s Very Important.

Just seven percent (7%) say an accurate count of the population is not very or Not At All Important.

Both of these questions show virtually no change since Rasmussen Reports surveyed adults in March of last year, following the release of the 2020 census questions, including the citizenship question.

The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted on January 16-17, 2019 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3% points with a 95% level of confidence. See methodology.

