On March 12, 2020, Colorado Common Cause celebrated the kick off of the decennial Census with guest speaker Mayor Michael Hancock of Denver. Alongside dozens of community leaders, Hancock encouraged participation in Common Cause’s“#ICount” campaign by filling out the Census.  

The event featured food from local food truck Tacos El Pueblita, beer from Raices Brewing Company and photo stands where attendees took photos with orange foam fingers reading “I Count”. Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Baile Caliente opened up the headline event, followed by speeches by Colorado Common Cause Executive Director Amanda Gonzalez and Mayor Hancock. 

COMMUNITY FUNDING 

Mayor Hancock spoke to the importance of filling out the Census to local community funds, “if we do a complete count in Denver, Colorado, that’s $1.4 billion to the city of Denver, money for our streets, our bridges, schools, for our health clinics, and for our public safety departments.” As Hancock noted, the Census is responsible for allocating large portions of the federal budget, and for the 2020 Census, every person who is counted is projected to add $2,300 per year in funds to their community.  

FILLING OUT THE CENSUS ONLINE 

Although March 12 marks the date that most households started to receive Census notifications in the mail, it’s also the day that the Census becomes available online, and this year the Census Bureau is directing people to its online form as the primary means of completing the survey. The Census is available at my2020census.gov, responses are entirely confidential, and the survey only takes roughly 10 minutes to complete. 

ADAPTING TO COVID-19 

Despite an upbeat tone, the event also had signage advising attendees not to shake hands and an abundance of Purell. In the wake of Colorado’s state of emergency declaration regarding Coronavirus, Amanda Gonzalez reminded the room that the Census is responsible for funding local health resources. Online completion of the Census may take on increased importance to compensate for the pandemic’s potential chilling effects on door-to-door Census takers. 

We thank Mayor Michael Hancock for taking the time to raise awareness for the 2020 Census. Now more than ever it’s imperative that our communities are represented and get the funds they deserve. The 2020 Census is easier than ever to fill out, and you can get counted today at my2020census.gov.