The Orange County Complete Count Committee wants you to fill out your census

Orange County officials said they plan to collaborate with community members and leaders to make sure that the 2020 census — beginning in March — is successful.

Todd McGee, community relations director for Orange County, said in a Jan. 28 presentation that an inaccurate census count could lead to lower funding for programs including school lunch programs, food stamps and public transportation. 

McGee said those affected the most by federal funding often comprise the most undercounted groups, which include young children, the homeless and non-English speakers.

“By not responding, you’re denying the resources to the programs that really benefit our most needy citizens,” McGee said. 

According to the Complete Count Committee, residents should report the data of their entire household online after receiving mail with a link to the census website in early March. Following the first notification, residents should expect three more reminders by mail before having a census worker come to their residence. 

Although officials hope the 2020 census will be the first census reported mostly online, paper forms will be available by request until mid-March. 

McGee also said the County plans to collaborate with local organizations to combat undercounting. 

“We feel it will be a lot more effective coming from people within those communities hearing from each other how important this is,” McGee said.

McGee said the involvement of the school system is crucial in reaching young children. According to the North Carolina Center for Demography, children under the age of five were undercounted by 3.8 percent in 2010. If children are undercounted again, it could cost the state an estimated $4.8 million.

Jeff Nash, executive director of communications for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, said the school system’s mass communication methods are ideal for reaching parents and faculty.

“Since we depend heavily on the state and the county for our school district funding, we want to make sure that everyone counts,” Nash said.

Census count also determines a state's number of members in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Jessica Stanford of Carolina Demography said North Carolina missed out on an additional House seat by a slim margin in the 2010 census and is expected to gain a seat in 2020.

“That means that we have more representation at the national level,” Stanford said. “It’s also important for people to know that this data is very confidential.”

Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order in 2018 to establish the Complete Count Committee — a group of government and community leaders working in each county to ensure accuracy in the census. 

“I appreciate these Commission members stepping up to work with community leaders and partners across the state to encourage a full and fair count of all our residents — from our biggest cities to our smallest, rural communities,” Cooper said in a press release. “The upcoming census is a huge opportunity for our state and we want to make sure everyone in North Carolina counts.”

Anna Richards, president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP and a member of the Complete Count Committee, said residency and language concerns have bred distrust of the census among marginalized groups. She said this shouldn’t stop the responses of community members of all residency statuses.

“The constitution says that every person should be counted, it doesn’t say every citizen,” Richards said. “So we have a particular interest in making sure that marginalized communities and everyone gets counted.”

The U.S. Census Bureau does not provide personal or identifying information to other governmental agencies.

All students living on campus at the UNC will be reported to the census by their residence hall, but off-campus students are expected to self-report. 

The committee said student responses, like those of all community members, are crucial for this census’ success. 

“I think it’s going to be a community-wide effort,” Richards said. “To, first of all, educate people if they have concerns about their census and to try to make sure that everyone gets counted.”

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