EVERYONE COUNTS: Complete your 2020 Census!

THE ISSUE

By now, every address in the U.S. should have received a 2020 Census form in the mail, part of a constitutionally-mandated count of every resident living in the U.S. and five U.S. territories that takes place every 10 years. Census data determines congressional representation, legislative districts, and the amount of federal funding states receive for education, transportation, hospitals, fire departments, and vital programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, school lunches, and SNAP. Accurate population counts are especially important for low income and minority communities, which not only need that funding the most, but are also the hardest to reach. The Trump administration has already made several attempts to sow fear and distrust of the census – particularly among immigrants – in order to depress the count in those communities while benefiting those that are predominantly wealthy and white. Last year he attempted to insert a citizenship question, in July he announced an attempt to remove undocumented US residents from the count, and now he and Senate Republicans are pushing to force the census counting to wrap up months earlier than requested. Congressional Democrats have included deadline extensions for the census in the HEROES Act, but Mitch McConnell refuses to bring the bill to the floor. It’s vital that we all do our part NOW to make sure everyone in their home is counted and to push Republican Senators to vote on the HEROES Act immediately.

Find more information about the census from the U.S. Census Bureau or from the Maine State Data Center. 

THE ACTION

• Complete your Census! You can complete the census online, by phone (844-330-2020), or by mail. Maine’s self-response rate was only 56.2% as of August 17, so please complete yours today!

   

• Tell Susan Collins to pass the HEROES Act! Flood her DC office with calls: (202) 224-2523

• Watch and share this video from Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. 

• Make social media posts encouraging friends and family to complete the 2020 Census. You can use the graphics below in your posts and use these hashtags: #CountMeIn #Census2020, and #EveryOneCounts.