Washington – The U.S. Census Bureau has opted to scale back its plans for a 2026 test run at the 230-year-old tradition of collecting demographic information.
Graham County was originally selected as part of a four-county cluster – as well as the Qualla Boundary – in western North Carolina to be a part of the sample group, but a recent report from NPR stated that the original target of six areas across the United States has been scaled back to just two: Huntsville, Ala., and Spartanburg, S.C.
Additionally, the bureau wants to replace temporary workers with U.S. Postal Service employees. The test is set to begin Wednesday, April 1.
The Graham Star attempted to reach out to the bureau for comment about why the change was made, but was instead directed to a published statement available on the bureau's website.
"Today the U.S. Census Bureau announced the launch of the 2026 Census Test. The test will focus on operations in two of the planned test site locations (Huntsville, AL and Spartanburg, SC). These operations include evaluating the use of the U.S. Postal Service in various capacities typically performed by Census Bureau field workers and limited activities for in-field enumeration. The Census Bureau remains committed to conducting the most accurate count in history for the 2030 Census and looks forward to the continued partnership with local communities."
The bureau originally said its selections were based on "improving the count of hard-to-count and historically undercounted populations."
Other sites were set to be Colorado Springs, Colo.; the Fort Apache and San Carlos reservations in Arizona; and Brewster, Jeff Davis, Pecos and Presidio counties in Texas.
Criteria for selecting the locations was stringent, according to the bureau's original release. What brought the areas chosen together was a combination of:
* A high percentage of historically undercounted populations;
* Historically low response rates;
* Tribal areas;
* Rural areas;
* Limited internet/cell phone service;
* A high percentage of households that don't receive mail at their physical address;
* Seasonal housing;
* A high number of multi-unit structures and/or hidden units in urban areas;
* Significant housing growth;
* Universities, correctional facilities, military housing and other types of group quarters.