The 2020 Census count ended prematurely last week. To put it more precisely, the U.S. Census Bureau stopped counting Americans after 2:59 a.m. Pacific Time on Oct. 16, even though it had previously declared that it would need until Oct. 31 to ensure an accurate and complete count.

This news came as a shock to many of us in California who were planning on making a final, two-week sprint to ensure a complete count. I serve as the director of the Inland Empire Census Complete Count Committee, a collaborative effort that includes dozens of community organizations, government agencies, businesses and research partners united in ensuring a complete and accurate count for a region that has more than 4.6 million residents.

Here, as in many other parts of the country, support for an accurate Census cuts across racial and partisan lines. Our Complete Count Committee is co-chaired by Janis Rutherford, a white, female county supervisor from San Bernardino County and V. Manuel Perez, a Hispanic male county supervisor from Riverside County. Even though county elections in California are nonpartisan, Rutherford self-identifies as a Republican and is part of her county’s Republican supermajority, while Perez is one of two Democrats serving alongside two Republicans and a Libertarian. Notably, both counties passed unanimous resolutions in late 2018 declaring their support for a complete and accurate Census count in the region.

This story can also be found in Santa Maria News.

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