Amid deadline chaos, Ducey urges haste on census

By Pristina Benally
Special to the Times

PHOENIX

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has urged residents of Arizona to complete their 2020 Census forms as soon as possible in spite of a preliminary injunction that suspends the Sept. 30 deadline, which was set by the Census Bureau in August.

The Justice Department on Friday appealed the injunction.

Ducey and Stephen Dillingham, director of the U.S. Census Bureau, along with members of the Arizona Complete Count Committee held a briefing at the Arizona state capitol on Sept. 17 to discuss the deadline and to review the accuracy of counts that had been made this year.

The goal for the census is to have enough people counted to measure how many Arizonans are here and what their fair share of government funds should be, as well as how many congressional districts they get.

The Census Bureau had originally had until Oct. 30 to complete the count, but inexplicably shortened the deadline by a month, which opponents, including the Navajo Nation, argued in a lawsuit would disproportionately affect rural residents and communities of color, who typically have a harder time getting an accurate count.

Senior officials at the bureau said at the time they had not made the decision to shorten the count and did not know where the decision came from.

Congress has not yet passed a law to extend the census deadline, but a group of bipartisan lawmakers has introduced one.

The Secretary of Commerce has announced a target date of Oct. 5 to conclude self-response and field data collection despite the court order.

Ducey launched the Arizona Census 2020 Campaign in January to make sure historically undercounted communities would have funding for the next 10 years for health care services, education, public safety and more.

“Our message today to Arizonans is simple – you matter and you deserve to be counted.” Ducey said. “Responding to the census is safe and easy — and it’s our civic responsibility. Arizona has seen nation-leading growth over the last five years. We want to maximize the opportunities that come with that.”

The growth of Arizona over the last five years has been tremendous so last year the U.S. Census Bureau focused on undercounted communities such as Native Americans, low-income families and Spanish-speaking populations.

The population of these groups has been undercounted in the census in the past three years.

Arizonans are being encouraged to self-report by text messages, public service announcements, radio campaigns, targeted digital and traditional advertising and a robust community outreach strategy.

Dillingham said 93% of households nationwide have completed the census and by the end of the week that figure should be 95%. Arizona’s rate as of Tuesday was close to 89 percent, one of the worst in the country.

“We see the finish line, we’re motivated, progress is underway, and we think that Arizona is going to meet that finish line with great success,” Dillingham said.

However, the Navajo Nation is hovering around 21% and some Arizona tribes are even lower. As of Tuesday, not a single Havasupai family had self-responded, according to the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University. In the 2010 Census, Native Americans were undercounted by an estimated 4.9%.

The chair of the Arizona Complete Count Committee, Debby Johnson, said the group has worked to promote a response to the census.

“We’ve implemented a strong campaign led by a diverse group of Arizonans from around the state,” she said. “These people understand the importance of the census and what it means for Arizona for the next decade including funding that matters to every Arizonan.”

Every person who lives in Arizona can be counted in this year’s 2020 census by taking 10 minutes to go online to complete it. Your information and privacy are safe, secure and confidential.

Information: https://my2020census.gov or 844-330-2020.

---