Census experts find no political influence in state totals

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press

A task force of outside experts has found no evidence of political interference in the 2020 census numbers used for divvying up congressional seats among the U.S. states. The American Statistical Association task force also said Tuesday that it had encountered no irregularities indicating the figures are unfit for use in the process of apportioning congressional seats. However, information given by the Census Bureau for review by the task force was insufficient for a thorough assessment on the quality of the data gathered last year. The once-a-decade head count was challenged by the pandemic, natural disasters and attempted political interference by the Trump administration.