News
01.31.20

Get counted in the 2020 Census

Get counted in the 2020 Census

Not everyone wants to share their information with the government. While recent attempts to get a citizenship question included in the Census were struck down in the courts, it’s left a feeling of distrust in many communities. What’s at stake?

In January, our monthly TRENDS podcast featured a report and discussion about the upcoming Census, including insights from Peggy Leech, Co-President of the League of Women Voters Boulder County, and the Co-Chair of the Boulder Complete Count Committee for the 2020 U.S. Census; Samantha Ibarra, President of the Pantherz Zonta ZClub at Boulder High School; and Scott Medina, Director of Community Relations at Bridge House. 

 
Not everyone wants to share their information with the government. While recent attempts to get a citizenship question included in the Census were struck down in the courts, it’s left a feeling of distrust in many communities.
 
With so much at stake, local groups are mobilizing to reach out to communities that have been historically undercounted to let them know the importance of taking part.
 
Scott explains why it’s important to include those who are experiencing homelessness, Samantha shares why we need more counts from the Latinx community, and Peggy wants the public to know, “the original reason [for the Census] in the constitution was to determine representation from the states to the House of Representatives.
 
“Colorado currently has seven representatives to Congress. It’s widely expected that our population has grown enough to where we’ll have eight representatives.”
 
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But there’s also a lot of money at stake in the Census, according to Chris Barge, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Community Foundation of Boulder County. “There are 55 sources of federal funding that make their way into Boulder County, which works out to about $2,300 per person per year. You multiply that by 10 years and you’re talking about $23K in federal funding allocation for every Boulder County resident,” he says.

 
Taking our TRENDS Report to the next level – in partnership with KGNU Community Radio – our new journalism initiative highlights the most important issues in Boulder County. Find all TRENDS equity podcasts at news.kgnu.org/category/trends … and wherever you find your favorite podcasts, including iTunes.