Today, April 1st, is Census Day, Friend -- but I don’t think any of us expected to be observing it under these circumstances.
I hope that you and your family are staying safe and well, and taking good care of each other. We’re all looking for ways to stay connected to our communities while practicing physical distancing.
Here’s one important way you can support your neighbors today: fill out the 2020 Census (by phone, mail, or online) if you haven’t already. Then, take the Be Counted Pledge -- and commit to making sure at least 3 of your friends and neighbors fill out their Census forms, too.
It’s essential that we have a complete and accurate count of every person living in the United States, regardless of age, citizenship status, or where they live. Census data is used to allocate critical resources like public benefits, firetrucks, road repairs, and hospitals.
Already, many living in the U.S. have filled out and submitted their 2020 Census, or followed the steps on our new website ourvoicescount.org/ to participate by phone or online.
By filling out the Census, each of us can do our part to make sure our communities have the resources and representation they need. Here are 3 important things you can do, right now from home, to support your community:
1) If you haven't already, visit ourvoicescount.org and follow the step-by-step instructions to fill out your Census form by phone, mail, or online.
2) Take our pledge to be counted in the 2020 Census -- and make sure all of your family, friends, and neighbors are counted as well. You can add your name here >>
3) Forward this email to everyone you know! Tell them to visit ourvoicescount.org to fill out the 2020 Census -- and to join you in taking our pledge at ourvoicescount.org/pledge!
Common Cause staff are working hard to ensure the 2020 Census can proceed fairly, accurately, and safely -- and we need your help. After all, it’s one of the most important projects our government takes on.
Every 10 years, we count all residents in the United States, regardless of background. However, people of color, particularly Black, Latino, and Native American communities in both urban and rural areas are at high risk of not being counted by the Census -- which means fewer resources and unequal representation along racial lines.
When our people are missing from the Census, resources and political power for our communities get assigned to somewhere else -- somewhere that already has more money, more privilege, and more power.
That’s why on this Census Day, we need your help to make sure everybody counts. When we fill out the Census form and make sure that all of us are counted, we can help our communities get the schools, hospitals, and roads we need.
Your voice can help ensure that your community gets the resources and representation that it deserves. Please join me in taking the pledge today: My family, my friends, and I will be counted in 2020! And once you have, help spread the word by asking 3 people to do the same.
Remember, if we don’t get counted, our communities could miss out for the next 10 years. I hope you’ll take action today.
Thanks for all you do,
Keshia Morris, Census and Mass Incarceration Project Manager
and the team at Common Cause
P.S. You can make an even bigger impact by forwarding this email to 3 friends right now -- urging them to join you in taking the pledge, and to go to ourvoicescount.org and follow the steps to take part in the 2020 Census!
