The L.A. County Board of Supervisors recently warned residents that a massive undercount in the U.S. Census will result in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for critical services and a loss of political representation in Washington for the next 10 years. As of Aug. 27, only 62.2 percent of households in L.A. County had self-responded to the census.
The U.S. Census Bureau has started sending census takers door-to-door in L.A. County, following up with households that haven’t yet responded to the census. The goal of door-to-door visits is to make sure 100 percent of households are counted.
African-American communities are among those most at-risk for being undercounted. In census tracts in L.A. County with a Black population of 33.3 percent or higher, an average of 59.6 percent of households have self-responded to the census as of Aug. 27. Officials have reason to be concerned as this number is trending lower than the final response rate for the last census. In 2010, 66.2 percent of households in these same neighborhoods responded to the census.
“One of the most important rights we have is our hard-won right to vote, a right integral to our democracy and directly related to the results of the census,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who filed an urgency motion expressing concern about the Census Bureau cutting the count a month earlier than expected. “We must all stand up and be counted because to be undercounted is to be underrepresented, and to be underrepresented is to be underfunded. We cannot lose sight of what this means for L.A. County.”
The Nonresponse Follow-Up (NRFU) operation began in August, the same week it was announced that the new census deadline was cut short by a month to Sept. 30. The shortened deadline is raising concerns that the 2020 Census might not have time to count all communities. Those most at risk of not being counted are predominately in African American, Latinx and Asian Pacific American communities.
The census can be completed online at my2020census.gov, by phone at 844-330-2020, or by mail if you receive a paper form. For non-English speaking residents, the U.S. 2020 Census website offers general information in 59 languages at https://2020census.gov/.
Census takers are hired from local communities and speak English. Many are bilingual, but if they do not speak the householder’s language, the household can request another visit from a census taker who does. The Census Bureau and census takers will never ask residents for a Social Security number, bank account, credit card numbers, or citizenship status. They will never ask for money or donations.
Safety precautions have been put in place for residents’ protection. Census takers are required to wear face coverings while conducting their work. They will follow CDC and local public health guidelines when they visit. Census takers have completed a virtual COVID-19 training on social distancing and safety protocols.
“Please answer the door and be counted in the census. If someone visits your home to collect information for the 2020 Census, you can ask to see a valid ID badge with their photograph and name. The badge will have a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark and expiration date. They also might carry a U.S. Census Bureau bag and other equipment with the Census Bureau logo,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said. “If you want to avoid a visit, you can fill out your census form today at my2020census.gov or by phone at (844) 330-2020.”
