Los Angeles Times - 13.03.2020

A6 FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020 WST S LATIMES.COM

THE NATION

WASHINGTON — The
coronavirus outbreak is
threatening to complicate
the nation’s massive, once-
a-decade population count,
but it’s also giving momen-
tum to the Census Bureau’s
2020 push to encourage peo-
ple to respond by phone,
mail or — for the first time —
online.
Don’t want a stranger
knocking on your door after
spending the day knocking
on other people’s doors?
Then fill out the census form
online, the government says.
Such “self-responding”
as early as possible means
“you don’t have to come into
contact or meet a census
taker,” when they are de-
ployed in May, Census Bu-
reau spokesman Michael
Cook said.
Beginning Thursday,
about 80% of the population
will get an invitation in the
mail instructing them to fill
out the census online — the
first time people have had
the ability to use the internet
to respond. The other 20%
will get an option to fill it out
either online or by regular
mail. (Everyone also gets the
option of doing it by phone.)
“The good news for the
census is they are counting
on a lot of people to fill out
their census forms online,”
said William Frey, a senior
fellow at the Brookings In-
stitution’s Metropolitan Pol-
icy Program. “They picked a
good year for it.”
Before May, few people
will have someone knock on
their door. But that changes
when the bureau begins fol-
lowing up with those who
don’t voluntarily respond.

The bureau expects to

hire 500,000 census takers

between May and July and

has recruited more than 2.

million applicants so far, of-

ficials said.

Because of the new

health threat, training for

recruits includes advice

about hand washing, using

sanitizer and other strate-

gies recommended by

health officials, Cook said.

“We will train people who

are coming into contact with

others how to be mindful of

their safety and that of oth-

ers,” Cook said. He said the

bureau is not currently con-

cerned that would-be cen-

sus takers will drop out be-

cause of the coronavirus.

But others are concerned

that could become an issue

for the bureau.

“If you are in an environ-

ment where public health

professionals are telling you

to be safe [and keep your dis-

tance], it’s just another chal-

lenge to recruiting people to

do that good, important

work,” said Sen. Tina Smith

(D-Minn.), who recently

sent a letter with other U.S.

senators asking the Census

Bureau how it plans to con-

duct an accurate 2020 cen-

sus during the outbreak and

what it is doing to protect

census workers.

Census results are chiefly

used to decide how many

representatives each state

gets in Congress, as ordered

by the Constitution.

But they affect much

more. State governments

use the data to redraw legis-

lative districts, while cities

use it to determine where to

build schools and police sta-

tions, which roads get re-

paired first, even whether to

put in a crosswalk at an in-

tersection. Businesses use

the data to determine where

to grow, and nonprofits use

the figures to decide where

they can be of the most help.

An undercount would

have a decade of repercus-

sions for communities.

Smith is working with the

agency to schedule a briefing

for Congress about how co-

ronavirus might affect its

work as well as the ability to

get an accurate count.

Although the census is

promoting online responses,

“we also know there are a lot

of people for whom that just

is not going to work,” Smith

said. Many of the same peo-

ple who don’t have home in-

ternet access are among the

most difficult to count, she

added.

And the outbreak may

continue to get worse during

key periods of the count.

“We don’t know where we

are going to be in terms of

our ability to test or where in

the arc of this virus we’re go-

ing to be” when it is time for

census takers to visit homes,

Smith said.

She said she wants spe-

cific details about how the

census plans to retain

enough census takers to

reach those who don’t re-

spond online, by phone or by

mail.

Hoping to curtail the

worst of the coronavirus out-

break, which the World

Health Organization de-

clared a pandemic Wednes-

day, public schools and uni-

versities have closed. Busi-

nesses are urging employees

to work from home. “Wheel

of Fortune” has stopped tap-

ing in front of a live studio

audience.

In some areas, such as

college campuses that have

closed down or neighbor-

hoods that have been quar-

antined, there might be a de-

lay or disruption to the cen-

sus, but the bureau has a re-

serve budget to allow it to

move offices, hire extra

workers or send extra mail-

ings in case of an emergency,

Cook said. No delays or

changes have been made yet,

though the bureau has cre-

ated a task force to decide

when it might be needed.

“We’ll adapt to make sure

we’re getting the same popu-

lation counted another

way,” Cook said.

He emphasized that col-

lege students should report

living at their college ad-

dress, even if the school has

sent them home.

A hundred years ago, the

census director blamed the

1918 Spanish flu pandemic,

along with World War I and

other things, for a five-

month delay in results of the

1920 census. But officials

don’t intend to have a similar

problem.

“We will make sure that

we follow our constitutional

obligation to deliver the 2020

census count by Dec. 31,”

Cook said. “Regardless of

the situation, the work con-

tinues, and we fulfill our

mandate.”

U.S. census moves where it counts: online

As coronavirus

spreads, keep your

social distance by

responding digitally.

By Sarah D. Wire

A CENSUS BUREAUjob fair in Miami. The bureau expects to hire 500,000 census takers between May and

July and has recruited about 2.6 million applicants. Training for recruits includes advice about coronavirus.

Lynne SladkyAssociated Press

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