With the official start of the 2020 U.S. census just one week away, the Trump campaign is wasting no time flooding Facebook with deceptive ads aimed at exploiting the official count for political gain. The Trump campaign’s ad asks users to “take the Official 2020 Congressional District Census” and then redirects users to a website designed to look like a government document. After filling out the campaign form, users are asked to donate to the Trump campaign.
This exploitation of the census by the Trump campaign is not the first time the Republican Party has tried to trick voters. The Republican National Committee is currently sending out paper mailers to voters across the country titled “2020 Congressional District Census” and designed to look like official documents.
The damage these misleading campaign ads can cause is significant. If individuals believe they have completed the census they will go uncounted by the official 2020 count. An incomplete count will result in the loss of federal representation, skewed redistricting, and underfunding of critical services like public education and hospitals. The deceptive tactics employed by national Republicans are just one more example of Trump’s unceasing efforts to manipulate the 2020 census for his own political gains.
Democratic governors, meanwhile, are investing time and resources into ensuring a complete 2020 census count in their respective states.
Every State, Every Vote Co-Chair Oregon Gov. Kate Brown released the following statement:
“A complete, accurate 2020 U.S. census is critical for the health of our democracy. It is beyond the pale that President Trump’s own reelection campaign would exploit the most important tool used to determine political representation and federal funding for his own partisan goals. Trump has made it clear that he does not want every American to be counted this year, and these ads are just his most recent efforts to manipulate the U.S. census. The Trump campaign’s Facebook ads need to be pulled immediately and Trump and the Republican Party need to answer for their disgusting, deceptive ploys.”
