Census 2020 self-response phase extended through October

With COVID-19 causing people to be on lockdown or in quarantine, the U.S. Census Bureau has extended the Self-Response Phase deadline for Census 2020 responses. People can self-complete the Census via online, phone or mail through Oct. 31, 2020. 

Since 1790, when George Washington signed the 1790 Census Act, the United States has conducted the count of the population in 10-year intervals.

Further, it is one’s civic duty to respond to the 2020 Census as Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution mandates the federal government to conduct a population count of everyone who lives in the United States and its five territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Today, the census data helps figure out where more than $675 billion in federal funds should be distributed annually. This data is also used to redraw boundaries of congressional and state legislative districts and determine the number of congressional seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Programs that support housing, transportation, health care, public policy, education and employment are impacted by the Census. 

Terry Bennett, media specialist at the U.S. Census Bureau, said it is important that everyone participates in the 2020 Census. 

“Each member living in the home needs to be accounted for, children included, to receive health, educational, and developmental and emergency services,” Bennett said. “The ultimate goal is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place.” 

Some U.S. residents may feel uneasy about giving out their personal information, but the U.S. Census Bureau has taken a lifelong pledge of confidentiality to keep respondents’ information private. Law enforcement agencies such as DHS, ICE, CIA or FBI are unable to use one’s information at any time. 

There are also no citizenship questions included in the Census, so those who are not citizens of the United States are able to participate without fear. The Census will also not ask for social security numbers, bank or credit card numbers, donations, or anything on behalf of a political party.

President Donald Trump wanted to include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census; however, states with large Hispanic populations, like California, filed lawsuits challenging the addition of the question because of the fact that they believed it would make undocumented residents refrain from participating.

This would underrepresent the state’s population, which would mean that the state would receive less funding. The Supreme Court voted in a 5-4 ruling June 27, 2019 to block the question regarding citizenship from being added to the 2020 Census. 

Even so, some U.S. residents may have reservations about participating in the Census because of the categories specific to race.

Aliya Beavers, director of Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UHCL, said some may not feel represented with the race categories that are presented in the Census survey. 

“Some folks have a hard time checking a box or don’t want to taper their identity down to some words on a page, while others feel like the categories do not do a good enough job of providing enough descriptions,” Beavers said. “Outside of the question about race and ethnicity, there is a lack of trust in the government and whether the information will be used to our benefit and provide resources or to allow oppressive behavior to continue.” 

Bennett said the need to indicate the race with which one identifies is important.

“To obtain an accurate count of each race, it is imperative that all select which race that they are and identify with,” Bennett said. 

Mary LeBlanc, coordinator for community engagement in the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership, said that UHCL has partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau. 

“Partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau allows us to continue to have additional resources to point students to and help spread knowledge and awareness about important civic processes such as the census,” LeBlanc said. 

Bennett said partnerships with colleges and universities play a vital role in the Census. 

“The 2020 Census has partnered with every college and university across the state of Texas,” Bennett said. “These partnerships are formed to reach hard-to-count populations on college campuses who often go unseen. Their count matters and needs to be captured as accurate as possible.”

LeBlanc notes that UHCL is still continuing to motivate students to participate, even with the campus being closed to nonessential personnel. 

“Because we are not on campus, much of our encouragement is currently virtual,” LeBlanc said, “We have information going out through social media and are continuing to work on other offerings. Participating in Census 2020 is not only a legal obligation, but it is an exciting opportunity to get involved in our civic processes.” 

Before 2020, surveys were conducted by going door to door. This year, people are able to participate by going to www.my2020census.gov and filling out a short survey. The Census Form takes about 10 minutes to complete.