Counting Like a State

“Philip Rocco has produced a highly readable and thought-provoking analysis of the importance of state and local governments in the effective conduct of the modern US census—a linchpin for our democracy. He documents how many state and local governments not only supported efforts to get people counted in 2020, but also fought attempts of the administration to skew the census results for partisan ends. He makes a strong case for strengthening the intergovernmental partnerships that are so vital for a fair and accurate count.”—Constance F. Citro, coauthor of The Nation’s Data at Risk: Meeting America’s Information Needs for the 21st Century

“In the middle of the twentieth century, the US tried to move on from a system that relied on thousands upon thousands of ordinary people across the nation to make an accurate count of all Americans. Yet, the system’s architects undervalued local knowledge, resources, and political influence, just as census data was taking on new powers to allocate funds and representation. In this original, extensively researched, and excellent study of the 2020 decennial census, Rocco reveals the contested construction and imperfect operation of a new system for harnessing the intellectual and political energies of communities, cities, and states.”—Dan Bouk, author of Democracy’s Data: The Hidden Stories in the US Census and How to Read Them

“Rocco’s study offers an in depth look at the intergovernmental relationships that guided the conduct of the 2020 Census, particularly the diverse ‘Get Out the Count’ outreach campaigns in local areas around the country. He has added important new insights into the fraught issues the country faced as Americans took a census during a pandemic. Rocco shows how the insights from the political science field of intergovernmental relations apply to the analysis of statistical policy making in the United States. The book should be widely read by the many ‘stakeholders’ in successful census taking, be they social scientists and statisticians, political leaders, or ordinary Americans.”—Margo J. Anderson, author of The American Census: A Social History

“While most people might have forgotten about the 2020 Census by now, this wonderful new book by Philip Rocco shows us why we need to remember the lessons it teaches. One of the very few things that the Constitution says the government must do, the Census is a lot more than just counting the number of Americans. It draws a road map of how its institutions connect with the American people and how the federal, state, and local governments interconnect with each other and with the vast network of nonprofit social institutions across the country. Rocco’s book uses the Census to provide an invaluable guide about what truly matters about the nation’s politics institutions.”—Donald F. Kettl, coauthor of Bridgebuilders: How Government Can Transcend Boundaries to Solve Big Problems