The Census Bureau paper regarding non-citizen voting in the 2020 election was produced by political operatives at an outside think tank.
Posted by Bulwark Takes, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
Bulwark TakesAug 21, 2026
Multiple reporters, including NPR and WIRED, found that the Census Bureau's August 2026 noncitizen-voting analysis was produced by a team with ties to the Trump-aligned think tank America First Policy Institute (AFPI), not by career Census staff.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… a Maria Garcia who's a citizen who voted legally, who gets matched up with one of the 10000 other Maria Garcias who live in this country, some of whom may not be citizens, and they don't account for any of this stuff. Basically, this is political propaganda. From what I have reported, and from what reporters at NPR have also found, it appears to have been put together actually by political operatives at an outside think tank, maybe some of whom were on loan to the Census. They put it together, it was released under the banner of Census, you know, basically exploiting the trust and credibility of this, of the Census Bureau, again, the granddaddy of great statistical independent institutions. …
Bulwark Takes · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. NPR reported that the Census Bureau report's analysis was not done by career Census staff and that the team included individuals affiliated with the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute.[2][4]
Supports. WIRED found that the report's two authors work for AFPI and that the wider team was made up almost entirely of AFPI members detailed to the Census Bureau.[5]
Supports. Bloomberg and other outlets reported the report was produced outside regular Census channels by political appointees and staffers at a think tank with close ties to President Trump.[3][6]
Context. The claim's wording is a paraphrase of the poster's own reporting ("it appears"), and the sources describe the think tank staff as detailed to the Bureau, so "outside" is partly a matter of framing rather than a contradiction.[5]
Context. The AFP and AP coverage from August confirms the report was published by the Census Bureau and criticized for methodology and anonymous authorship, which is consistent with the claimed provenance.[1][7]
Sources
7 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 tier 2, 4 not rated
- 1Noncitizen voting claims animate Trump's attacks on the ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2A Census Bureau report on noncitizen voting has ties to a Trump-aligned think tanknpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 3Noncitizens Don't Sway Elections, Even in a Pro-Trump Tallybloomberg.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Political meddling at the Census Bureau damages the entire US statistical systempiie.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5The Census Bureau Is Overrun With Staffers From a MAGA ...wired.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 6Justin Fox: Noncitizens don't sway elections, even in a pro-Trump tallynewsobserver.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Experts question US Census Bureau report on noncitizen votingfactcheck.afp.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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