Something very suspicious is taking place with the 2020 census, and it could well mean that we don’t get an accurate count of how many people currently live in the United States.

According to CNN, Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham made the announcement on Monday, noting the deadline for completion of the census had been moved from September 30 from the original date of October 31.

“The shift is part of an effort to ‘accelerate the completion of data collection and apportionment counts by the end of the year deadline.

“‘The Census Bureau’s new plan reflects our continued commitment to conduct a complete count, provide accurate apportionment data, and protect the health and safety of the public and our workforce,’ he said.”

As of this month, only 63 percent of households have responded to the census questionnaire, and there’s now considerable fear that an accurate count won’t be completed by the end of next month, with even some employees of the Census Bureau expression concern over the month that will now be lost, HuffPost reports:

“Rumblings of the date change first reported by NPR cited three anonymous Census Bureau employees, one of whom expressed fears of a ‘massive undercount’ as a result of the ‘impossible’ task of completing the count by the new deadline.

“Democrats and civil rights advocates have questioned whether rushing to meet the December deadline will produce an unfair and incorrect count. Concerns have also been raised about President Donald Trump’s order to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count, despite the fact that the census is intended to count every person living in the United States.”

Asian Americans Advancing Justice echoed those concerns, with a spokesperson warning:

“This new deadline allows Trump to cheat hard-to-count communities of color out of the resources needed for everything from health care and education to housing and transportation for the next 10 years.”

Like everything else done by the current administration, it would appear that even the census is going to be a half-assed effort.

Featured Image Via NBC News