Democracy North Carolina worked hard in 2010 to conduct statewide Census outreach, working primarily through partnerships with statewide and local organizations like the NAACP, faith organizations, the Association of Mexicans in North Carolina (AMEXCAN), and the Alliance of NC Black Elected Officials. We conducted five trainings, recruited dozens of volunteers for neighborhood outreach projects, coordinated a successful “Count All Souls” program that involved more than 300 churches, and distributed 975,000 informational cards in English and Spanish statewide to food banks, unemployment offices, community centers, schools, housing complexes, and stores catering to our target audience of people in “hard-to-count” areas.

Our overall Census outreach project helped North Carolina tie for first place as the state that increased its mail-back response rate the most, from 2000 to 2010 – from 66% to 74%!

 

Why We Did It

During the 2000 Census, more than one-third of North Carolina residents did not return the Census survey form. In some communities, less than half the forms were returned. Census workers visited homes and official estimates helped fill gaps, but it’s clear that many types of people were under-represented, leading the Census to call them “hard to count” populations. They are disproportionately composed of: 

• Renters in apartments, public housing and private homes,
• Transient communities, such as the homeless and migrant workers,
• Immigrants and non-English speaking communities,
• Poor, rural communities,
• Native Americans, African Americans and other people of color, and
• Nursing home residents and others in group housing.

 

Because of these gaps, Democracy North Carolina worked with the Census Bureau and local groups to ensure that everyone in North Carolina was counted during the 2010 Census. We looked for groups and individuals to help with outreach, especially to hard-to-count populations, in cities where we have democracy coalitions and in other areas of the state. 

 

The Benefits of Being Counted

When people are not counted, communities lose their fair shares of government money for hospitals, school programs, job training, transportation and more. They also lose political clout to other areas. And they lose when planners decide where to locate a new grocery store, library or fire station. Low-income communities lose the most from the “undercount” – and, in North Carolina, they are disproportionately composed of people of color. Specifically:

 

Money: How money is distributed from many government programs is determined by the number of people counted in a city, county and state. In fact, the Census affects the distribution of over $400 billion in federal programs and over $300 million from North Carolina’s budget – for health care, housing, roads, schools, social services, job training and more. That works out to $1,500 for each person in North Carolina. So outreach that results in 100 more people being counted would add $150,000 a year for an area. Reducing the undercount by 1,000 in a community would add $1,500,000 for everything from child-care programs to senior centers to new buses.

 

Power: Political representation is also determined by the number of people in each area. That’s because the population size affects where the district lines are drawn for the elections of representatives to city hall, the state legislature and Congress. More people means more political power for a community in Washington and in Raleigh. As a state, North Carolina might add another representative in Congress if our total population edges out a couple other states. Fast growing counties, like Wake and Mecklenburg, will likely gain more representatives in the NC General Assembly. Poor communities with a high undercount may lose political power to other parts of the county where a higher percent of the population is counted.

 

The Future: Business and government planners use the Census to make decisions about a community’s future. The number of people in an area helps decide where to locate a new grocery store, hospital, school and recreation center.  Population size also influences where investments are made for the public infrastructure, such as water lines, sewage systems, roads and transit routes. The health and well-being of a community can be heavily influenced by full participation in the Census, just as it can be by more people voting.

 

For all these reasons, Democracy North Carolina made a “full count” part of our mission to expand civic participation and social justice. We help spread the word to neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, faith communities and civic groups.

 

The Purpose of the Census:

Every ten years (in years ending with a "0"), the U.S. government conducts a national census in order to count everyone living in the United States. This task is mandated by the U.S. Constitution and has happened since 1790, when Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson supervised the first Census. The Census Bureau – working in conjunction with local governments and other organizations – attempts to count all residents, including citizens and non-citizens, documented and undocumented immigrants, residents in “group quarters” (nursing homes, prisons, college dorms), homeless people and people in non-conventional housing.

Thanks to all of you who helped make the 2010 Census a success!