Today Good Business Colorado, The Marijuana Industry Group, and Colorado Common Cause announced that they will be working together to ensure that every Coloradan is counted in the 2020 Census.

Beginning this week, in honor of June 17th’s Census Day of Action, get out the count cards will appear in dispensaries and businesses throughout the state. The census is used to allocate public funding for investments that grow the economy, including schools, roads, and workforce development, among many others. Over 60% of households have responded to the 2020 Census as of May 27, but we need a complete count of everyone in this country.

[Source: U.S. Census Bureau]

The 2020 Census will shape our national and state government, public policy and budgets for an entire decade. To have your voice count, you must be counted.

The 2020 Census is used to:

• effectively allocate billions of dollars in federal, state, and local funding,
• ensure that our communities receive funding for fundamental human rights like healthcare, food, and housing;
• give community members a say in who leads the political institutions that have the power to protect or harm them
• gather evidence needed to protect people from discrimination.
• provide critical data that small businesses use to identify where to open a new store and what products and services to offer.

The census is the one act of civic engagement that all Coloradans – citizens and immigrants, voters and nonvoters, adults and children – should all participate in.

An inaccurate count in the 2020 Census could be disastrous for local communities and businesses. As Colorado Common Cause Executive Director Amanda Gonzalez notes, “time and time again the census has missed millions of us — including communities of color, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees, people with low incomes or experiencing homelessness, and young children. We all have to work together to ensure that we all count – because we all matter.” That’s why businesses, individuals, and government are working together to ensure a complete count.

Everyone in our community has something to gain from filling out the 2020 Census, so go to my2020census.gov today and get counted.