Commentary: Census 2020 Exposes Deep Digital Divide and Reinforces Need for Paper Options

Unprecedented decision by the Census Bureau to take away the choice between paper and online participation from respondents caused confusion and diminished the rate of responses. The digital divide is far more complex than not having the availability of broadband infrastructure where one lives or works. Mere availability is a significant yet separate problem from personal affordability of broadband. Which is distinct from actual adoption and practical use of the expensive, fee-for-service communications infrastructure. All of which also require additional, expensive tools including fairly new hardware and very recent software, and a place where they are available.  Clearly, we have a long way to go to eliminate the challenges that will enable everyone to more fully embrace and participate in all things digital — including Census 2020.

Paying the Price of E-Filing: E-Filing Mandate Spurs Spending on Tech Upgrades-and Paper– Texas Lawyer filed public information requests and learned that 19 counties have spent a total of $5.76 million to implement the e-filing mandate and have budgeted nearly another $3 million more for the same purpose. Those same counties have only collected  a total of $1.33 million from the e-filing fee intended to recoup set-up costs. Expenses included computer equipment, software, printers and scanners, Internet bandwidth and labor costs. Counties reported increases in paper and toner costs.

Trusting the Electronic Record? Online Opinions Don’t Match Final Supreme Court Decisions- The US Supreme Court has been quietly revising its decisions years after they were issued, altering the law of the land without notifying the public, says a new study by Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus. The revisions include what he calls “truly substantive changes in factual statements and legal reasonsing.”

In Rural Texas, Living Without Home Internet: Article in the Texas Tribune explores the digital divide, noting that 31% of Texas adults don’t have high-speed internet at home and discusses lack of availability in rural areas.

South Dakota survey finds that nearly half of that state’s residents read public notices–  A statewide telephone survey commissioned by the South Dakota Newspaper Association found that 48.7 percent of South Dakotans read public notices such as school board minutes and zoning notices either frequently or sometimes.