2020 CENSUS WATCH: Tracking the critical Census count

April 9, 2020 - The decennial U.S. population count is underway and will be used for everything from drawing new congressional districts to deciding where to allocate federal resources — including any potential coronavirus vaccine. But the pandemic is complicating the process and raising concerns about potential undercounts, which would inflict more pain on suffering communities.

November 20, 2019 - In the U.S. census count set for next year, many states in the South will continue to count prisoners as residents of the district where the prison is located rather than in their home communities — a practice that distorts representative democracy. But efforts are underway in some states to change how prisoners are counted.

August 23, 2019 - With the critical once-a-decade population count just months away, only three states in the South have allocated any state funding to encourage participation.

June 28, 2019 - Fearing a population undercount that could result in lost congressional seats and federal funding, many states have taken aggressive steps to encourage full participation in the 2020 census. But some Southern states are dragging their feet.

February 15, 2019 - Southern states are projected to gain up to four congressional seats and Electoral College votes after next year's census. But some Southern states are at risk of losing representation, and census undercounts could dilute the power of African-American and Latino communities.

August 25, 2017 - The Census Bureau had initially planned to include the Bluefield-Beckley-Oak Hill area of West Virginia in its dress rehearsal for the 2020 census, but budget cuts forced it to scale back its plans. As a result, not a single Southern or rural community will be included in the full test, deepening worries about the count's accuracy.

June 28, 2017 - With the 2020 count approaching, concerns are mounting that budget cuts and turnover at the U.S. Census Bureau could lead to missing significant numbers of historically undercounted residents — many in disadvantaged Southern communities that depend on accurate numbers to apportion political power and fund services.