RBC | The U.S. Census Bureau will begin emailing households in low-responding areas to encourage them to respond to the 2020 Census.
Millions of emails will be sent this week and continue into September. The emails supplement a campaign reminding people to respond to the 2020 Census on their own, as census takers begin following up with Colorado households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census.
Email Alerts
The messages alert households in low-response areas that time is running out and their response to the 2020 Census is important for their communities. The email messages will invite Coloradans to respond online at 2020census.gov. Coloradans who receive the email and haven’t already responded should click on the link provided (in the email) and complete the census online. It’s easy, safe and important.
The emails will go to households that the Census Bureau has contact information for in census block groups with a response rate lower than 50%. This will include households that may have already responded. In total, the Census Bureau expects to email more than 20 million households, nationwide, in these low-responding areas.
The email messages will come from [email protected] and will give recipients the option to opt out of receiving future messages. The Census Bureau is also considering sending text messages to areas that have low response.
The Census Bureau’s recent success with contacting households by email to participate in the Household Pulse Survey prompted the agency to add these methods to support the 2020 Census. This contact method will help increase response rates and reduce the need for in-person follow-up.
Additional Outreach Efforts
In addition to emailing households, the Census Bureau is increasing other outreach efforts during one last push to encourage everyone to respond to the census online, by phone or by mail. The Census Bureau is currently reviewing the use of text messages.
The Census Bureau recently announced that it has launched Mobile Questionnaire Assistance, a program that offers assistance with responding at locations such as grocery stores and pharmacies in low-responding areas.
Additionally, the Census Bureau has expanded its paid advertising—launching a series of new advertisements aimed at increasing online response and expanding to a total of 45 non-English languages receiving some level of paid media support.
Households have until October 31 to respond to the 2020 Census. However, census takers have begun following up with households that haven’t responded yet in select areas and will begin following up with households nationwide in August.
Why Is the 2020 Census Important?
The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years.
The 2020 Census counts everyone who lives in the United States as of April 1, 2020 (Census Day).
Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Census statistics inform how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local and federal lawmakers annually for the next 10 years.
About the Census
The Census Bureau strongly encourages the public to respond online at 2020census.gov.
Households can respond by phone in English or 12 other languages.
Households can also respond by mail using the paper questionnaire mailed to non-responding addresses.
For more information, call 844-330-2020 or visit 2020census.gov.
To see a revised timeline for the census, visit the 2020 Census operational adjustments page.
Special to the Herald Times
