CITY OF SAN ANTONIO
GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM
TO: Intergovernmental Relations Council Committee
FROM: Jeff Coyle, Director of Government & Public Affairs
SUBJECT: 2020 Census Overview
DATE: May 11, 2018
The Intergovernmental Relations Committee will receive a brief overview of the 2020 Census, to include the importance of obtaining a complete count in San Antonio, the City’s role in the 2020 census and general timeline.
The US Census is important for several reasons. First, it helps determine the distribution of more than $675 billion annually in federal funds to state, local and tribal governments. It also informs Congressional representation, redistricting, forecasts future transportation needs, determines eligibility for housing assistance programs and assists government entities in planning and implementing programs and services and others.
In 2020, individuals can complete the census questionnaire online, by phone or by mail for the first time, reducing the reliance on household visits. In past years, individuals could only complete the census form via mail. The first day for residents to self respond is March 23, 2020 and census day is April 1.
The US Census Bureau recommends each community form a Complete Count Committee (CCC) to help achieve an accurate count. A CCC’s role is to plan and implement locally-based outreach campaigns to raise awareness of the census and ultimately drive participation in the census. The City of San Antonio will work with Bexar County to form a CCC to conduct community outreach on the importance of participating in the census, while engaging key stakeholders. The Government and Public Affairs Department will coordinate the City’s efforts, working with other City departments, the Mayor’s Office and Council offices. An equity impact assessment will also be conducted to help develop an effective plan for the CCC.
Based on Census Bureau statistics from 2010, on average, about 24% of San Antonio residents are not likely to self-respond in 2020. To obtain an accurate count, local outreach efforts will seek to inform all residents about the importance of the census, while focusing on areas with low response rates from the 2010 census. According to an analysis by the Texas Tribune, 66 percent of the Texas residents live in census tracts that exceed the national average for low response scores.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department requested that the Census Bureau include a question on citizenship in the census questionnaire. In late March, the Commerce Department announced the citizenship question will be included in the questionnaire and provided its planned questions to Congress. In early April, 17 states, the District of Columbia, six cities and the US Conference of Mayors filed a suit against the Census Bureau and Commerce Department to block the inclusion of this question. In early May, the state of Colorado, three cities and four counties joined the case. The State of California has filed a similar lawsuit.