BILLINGS, MT – On Monday, Aug. 3, the U.S. Census Bureau cut the response period deadline by a full month, from Oct. 31 to Sept. 30, disproportionately affecting the counting of Black, Brown, Indigenous and immigrant communities. The Bureau’s new deadline has sent Montana tribes and social justice organizations like Montana Native Vote (MNV) into crisis mode, fearing a historic undercount that could curtail funding for tribal programs for years to come.

In response to the new deadline, MNV has partnered with the Crow Incident Command Center to set up census drive-through count stations...