INDIVISIBLE Lambertville NJ / New Hope PA

Category: Census

  • Help Needed to Support the Census

     Contributed by John Woods.

    Fisherman’s Mark is seeking assistance from Indivizzies to support the 2020 Census, by distributing posters, flyers and other information pieces to reassure and help their clients complete the Census information. There is a special need for volunteers who speak Spanish. Workers will begin visiting households that have not completed their Census on Tuesday, August 11. For more information, contact John Woods at 609-306-5163. If you speak Spanish and would like to volunteer, call Richard Zapata at 609-397-0194.

  • Census in the Time of Corona

     

    Contributed by Elaine Clisham.

    As if this year’s decennial census didn’t have enough challenges — the first census conducted largely online, delays in systems security testing, budget shortfalls, the court fight over the citizenship question — now the census has to contend with the restrictions imposed by a pandemic. Which means of course some things have changed.

    First, the good news: As of May 2, 2020 when this is being written, the national online response rate to the census was 56.3%. That’s higher than census officials had predicted. Here’s how we stack up locally (and if you want to play around with the interactive map of response rates, you can find it here):

    National Self-Response Rate: 56.3%
    Response Rate Response Rate
    New Jersey 58.1% Pennsylvania 58.5%
    NJ-07 68.6% PA-01 68.0%
    Hunterdon County 68.0% Bucks County 67.8%
    Lambertville 66.9% New Hope 58.8%

    So how do we get from here to 100%?

     

    The people who have responded so far are the ones most likely to respond anyway, regardless of whether it’s online, by mail, or in person. Now we need to look for the hard-to-count groups. They are who you might expect:

    • Young people 18-24
    • Renters
    • People living in poverty
    • People who don’t speak English
    • Migrants and minorities

    But we also need to worry about families with children age 4 and under; people who live in gated and access-controlled communities where census workers will have trouble reaching them; and people who struggle with technology. 

    In light of the pandemic, the Census Bureau has reset some deadlines. Field staff training won’t begin until at least June 1, in-person visits won’t begin until at least the second week in August, and the final response deadline has been postponed four months, from June 30 to October 31. (So you still have time!)

    Most importantly, the Census Bureau has asked Congress (and it takes an Act of Congress to do this) to postpone by four months, from March 31, 2021 to July 31, 2021, the deadline by which it has to deliver to states the data that will be used for Congressional and legislative redistricting. For Pennsylvania, this will have a marginal effect, since Pennsylvania won’t need to reapportion its districts until the 2022 elections.

    But for New Jersey, that four-month delay is critical, since New Jersey needs to reapportion its legislative districts in time for 2021 elections. And the potential new data deadline of July 31, 2021 is later than our usual primary date! 

    So what’s going to happen? We don’t know. Gov. Murphy was asked about this at a recent press conference, and acknowledged he “hadn’t given it one second’s thought.” Right now, here are New Jersey’s deadlines:

    • Redistricting Commission must be appointed by November 15, 2020 (you can learn more about how the governor appoints the commission here).
    • Legislative districts must be redrawn 30 days after receiving data (in 2011, data was received Feb. 3; in 2021, if the Census Bureau gets its extension, data might not be available until July).
    • Legislative candidate filing deadline: April 15, 2021
    • Primary: June 8, 2021 (we think)

    Secretary of State Tahesha Way leads New Jersey’s Complete Count Commission, so it will probably fall to her to make a recommendation.

     

     

    And it turns out, if you filled it out incompletely or incorrectly, you can go back and resubmit your answers! So, if another human joined your family between when you completed the census and April 1, 2020, which is the country’s official Census Day, you can add them. 

    And if you added your college-student child because they were home on April 1 even though they are usually away at school, you can remove them. For students who go to college away from home, the college works with the Census Bureau to count students in residence. So, pretend they’re still at college when you fill out your form.

    And finally, if you know someone in a hard-to-count group, do what you can to help them get counted. Because when it comes to the census, there’s strength in numbers.

    More resources:

  • Census Process Faces Challenges of Cybersecurity and Coronovirus

     Contributed by Amara Willey.

    Coming to a mailbox near you at the same time as the coronavirus (COVID-19) hits our shores, the 2020 Census has a huge impact on Federal workings for the next ten years. Determining how many Congressional representatives each state gets and how funding is allocated, the accuracy of the census numbers is vital to our democracy.

    According to the Census form letter itself, results will be used to make decisions about federal funding to communities for schools, roads and other public services; local transportation and emergency readiness preparedness; and the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as political representation at all levels of government.

    Because for the first time in history, respondents are being asked to answer online, all kinds of issues have arisen. 

    • How accurate are the online results?

    Three quarters of households are receiving an invitation to complete their census online. There is concern amongst Democratic lawmakers that with the coronavirus, the Census Bureau will rely too heavily on internet responses. In addition, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has expressed concern that the Census Bureau has not adequately prepared for the possibility of computer hacking,  stating it “continues to face challenges related to addressing cybersecurity weaknesses, tracking and resolving cybersecurity recommendations from the Department of Homeland Security.”

    • What happens if you don’t have access to the internet?

    Households can still answer via telephone or mail-in form. Also, the Census Bureau estimates that approximately 500,000 temporary workers will be going door to door assisting people with answering the questionnaires. It’s expected that 60 percent of those receiving the Census will fill it out on time on their own.

    • How will the coronavirus affect the Census?

    The estimated time for this door-to-door process is May through July, though that time frame may shift because of COVID-19. The Census Bureau is required to report their findings by December 31, 2020. “The planned completion date for data collection for the 2020 Census is July 31, 2020; however, that date can and will be adjusted if necessary as the situation evolves in order to achieve a complete and accurate count,” the Census Bureau said in a statement released on March 15.

    The date that we are using to report the population is April 1, regardless of when the census is filled out. The best way to help this process is to fill out your form promptly. It will also ensure that you avoid a visit from a Census Bureau enumerator, which will free them up to count more difficult to reach populations, such as the homeless and those without good internet access.

    Resources:

    https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/us/2020-census-what-you-need-to-know/index.html
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-to-avoid-a-census-worker-coming-to-your-door-during-coronavirus-crisis/ar-BB11jK4O
    https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/12/politics/census-bureau-significant-risks-2020-census-gao/index.html

  • Some Good News (Finally) on the Census

    Some Good News (Finally) on the Census

    Contributed by Elaine Clisham

    So, the citizenship question will not appear on the 2020 census form. That’s good news! (But don’t sleep on this — there is already a push to get it included on the 2030 form!) Amid all the flurry over the question in the past few weeks, it was easy to miss some positive census developments here in New Jersey.

    The 2020 census presents unique challenges. It will be the first census to be conducted primarily online, requiring a host of new technologies to be developed and tested. There were originally supposed to be three end-to-end field tests, but budget restrictions forced that number to be reduced to one, meaning the system will not be field-tested again after any identified bugs are fixed. The threat of the citizenship question being added has eroded trust in the census and threatens a robust response, particularly among groups hardest to count. (Hard-to-count communities include communities with a traditionally lower-than target response rate, which in New Jersey is 73 percent; minority communities and communities whose first language is not English; and children under 5 years old. This year, because the census will be conducted online, another hard-to-count category has been added — older residents who are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the technology they will be asked to use.) And, while there have been increases to the federal budget for the census, there is widespread fear that the budget for partnerships and outreach will not get sufficient funding. None of this bodes well for an accurate census.

    The good news is, New Jersey is taking several steps to try to minimize the risk of an incomplete count.

    First, last fall the state appointed a Complete Count Commission, chaired by Secretary of State Tahesha Way, and charged it with identifying steps New Jersey and local municipalities and community groups need to take in order to ensure that every resident is counted. (You can read more about the commission here; Legislative District 15 Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, who represents Lambertville, is a member.)

    In June, after a series of public hearings around the state, the commission released its report (available here as a PDF). The report noted the three key advisory committees set up within the commission, and including representatives of hard-to-count communities, that will focus on community advocacy, partnerships with private entities, and education and intergovernmental coordination. It highlighted more than 500 hard-to-count census tracts in all but three counties, where it urged that extra effort — formation of local partnerships and Complete Count Committees, augmented outreach, including in languages other than English — be focused in order to ensure an accurate count. And it detailed plans for establishing a multi-lingual branding and communications campaign to support census outreach efforts throughout the state. These are all critical steps. (A good summary of the commission’s report can be found here.)

    Second, the June meeting of the New Jersey Council of Grantmakers was focused entirely on ways the philanthropic sector can support efforts to secure a complete count. The council is developing partnerships with, and training resources for, its members, and has an entire section on its website devoted to its census efforts. (A good writeup of the council’s meeting is here.) This philanthropic support will be key to successful partnerships and outreach in hard-to-count communities.

    And third, while the budget that Gov. Murphy originally proposed had only $2 million allocated for census outreach, the final version, drafted by the Legislature and now signed by the governor, includes the full $9 million that advocacy groups had requested. So while federal outreach funds may be lacking, New Jersey has now made a pledge to fill the gap.

    All of this means that census prospects in New Jersey look a little brighter than at the federal level. However, we need to take advantage of these resources and work proactively to help ensure a complete count. 

    Call to Action! 

    If you have connections in a hard-to-count community and you want to help, contact any of the members of the state Complete Count Commission about setting up a local Complete Count Committee in that community, and becoming a census outreach partner. Let’s make sure all of New Jersey counts!