As the Director and senior career U.S. Census Bureau officials told members of Congress and Congressional staff last week, the estimated date that apportionment data will be complete remains in flux. These kinds of anomalies and issues are expected and are similar to the Census Bureau’s experience in prior decennial censuses. Internal tracking documents would not convey the uncertainty around projected dates and may fail to reflect the additional resources employed to correct data anomalies. The anomalies affect less than seven-tenths of one percent of records and are being resolved as expeditiously as possible.

What is certain is that the Census Bureau is working to thoroughly correct and address all issues and anomalies as a part of its mission to deliver accurate 2020 Census data products as close to the statutory deadline as possible. No shortcuts are being taken when it comes to patching the software to correct these anomalies, or others that may be discovered as data processing continues, and resources are being added to post-data collection processing to ensure timely and accurate data is delivered for the Census Bureau's important mission. 

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