By Rachel Walker, LMC policy analysis manager Hey all, it’s Rachel, policy analysis manager at the League. I'm back with a "Census Eve" update and some ideas for getting a complete count even during pandemic response.
It was also the social studies lesson of the day for my two school-age children who are home due to the pandemic.We had a good conversation about why an accurate count is important. They were pretty intrigued by how many "0"s there are in the dollar amount of funds distributed based on census numbers — nearly $600 billion! We also talked about the role of government in getting an accurate count.
We didn’t talk too much about why the coronavirus pandemic is going to make conducting the census a lot more challenging, but it will.
April 1 is Census Day
Census Day is April 1. A lot of communities around the state have been working diligently with local partners in complete count committees for months to help ensure a complete count. Many of the strategies involve in-person gatherings and close contact with others.In order to keep Minnesotans healthy and follow the advice of experts, many of these strategies will have to evolve. The state demographer’s We Count Minnesota campaign recently released some suggestions for doing just that in upcoming weeks
following Census Day to complete the count.
Some examples:
- Shift to phone call and email campaigns to encourage residents to complete the online census forms.
- Secure testimonials from local community leaders that you can use in spreading the word.
- Identify low-response areas using the Census Bureau's response data and target outreach in those places. This interactive map from the Census Bureau is updated daily.
- Check out the Directory of Language Resources to help communicate effectively.
If you have questions or concerns about how your team can most effectively redirect your resources and energy, please reach out to Andrew Virden, the director of census operations and outreach in Minnesota, at (651) 201-2507 or andrew.virden@state.mn.us.
P.S. We love these census hero posters! These images and more are available to share from the state demographer in high-resolution pdf files.