The 2020 Census will continue amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but with a few adjustments
By: Yuki Liang, Jamie Park, and Xiangyuan Chi
Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the United States Census Bureau has had to adapt its plan to count everyone in the country as the crisis unfolds.
Invitations to participate in the census began to arrive via mail in mid-March around the same time the coronavirus hit the country. While census collection is ongoing, the bureau has suspended field operations until April 15 to follow distancing guidance from state and local authorities. The date to respond online, by phone or mail has also been pushed to Aug. 14. All of the information about responding using one of these methods can be found on the Census Bureau’s website.
“It has never been easier to respond on your own, whether online, over the phone or by mail — all without having to meet a census taker,” according to a news release from the Census Bureau.
Data from the census, which happens every ten years, is used by the government to determine not only representation in Congress, but also what proportion of federal funds are given to each state, city and county.
These facts underscore the importance of participating in the census, especially for residents living in hard to count communities, according to Esperanza Guevara, a census campaign manager at Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.
“There’s never been more at stake especially for anyone living in under-resourced communities, places that are lacking in resources for their schools or in funding for community clinics,” Guevara said. “Those things are tied to being counted in the census.”
The pandemic has also forced CHIRLA to change its efforts to reach these communities including those in South L.A., she said.
“We’ve had to pivot a lot of the work outreach that we were doing directly in communities to remote or virtual outreach,” Guevara said, adding the organization is doing live streams, creating videos and answering people’s questions about the census on Instagram and Facebook.
USC Research Professor of Communication Colin Miles Maclay is the executive director of the Annenberg Innovation Lab and has been involved with multiple projects that have sought to educate U.S. residents about the census. He said that census participation is crucial to communities for “getting served, being seen, and having a voice.”
“There are a lot of folks who are undercounted every census and as a result, have reduced [financial] investment in their communities, and have reduced voice and reduced visibility,” said Maclay. “That leads to all kinds of negative things from having cities who can’t access federal programs, to the creation of food deserts because businesses or supermarkets may not have accurate information as to who lives in a given community.”
South L.A. has traditionally been one of the undercounted communities Maclay referred to, according to Ed Johnson, the spokesperson for Los Angeles City Councilman Herb Wesson Jr. The councilman represents District 10, which includes Jefferson Park, Leimert Park and other neighborhoods in South L.A.
While Johnson said the COVID-19 pandemic has become the top priority for many, he added that it is important to promote awareness of the census to make sure residents in the area are accurately counted. He added the city has been working to quash misinformation around the census.
“There has been a lot of misinformation about the census, whether your data is secure, for example,” said Johnson. He added that he believes it is crucial for the community to be knowledgeable about the census so that residents can overcome any mistrust or uncertainty they may have about the census and how their data will or might be used.
One misconception about the 2020 Census is that it will include a question about whether or not the census taker is a citizen. This is untrue. This year’s census will not include a question about citizenship. The United States Supreme Court ruled against allowing the citizenship question in June. In July, United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross confirmed that the question would not be included in the census.
Directions for responding to the census can be found on The Census Bureau’s website. In addition to English, the census, which takes less than 15 minutes to answer, can be completed online and by phone in 14 different languages while mail-in questionnaires are available in 59. As of April 6, the Census Bureau still plans to complete the 2020 Census on time.
