State to host virtual Census Day event
SANTA FE -- The New Mexico Statewide Complete Count Commission is celebrating national Census Day today (Wednesday, April 1) with a virtual fiesta to encourage all New Mexicans to participate in the 2020 count without leaving home.
Because of the social distancing requirements to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the fiesta will be held on
social media, with messages reaching all 33 counties, tribal governments and universities.
The campaign on Facebook and other social media channels will include content showing how to fill out
the Census form – online, by phone or by mail -- and explaining why it’s important to do so. It also
includes badges any New Mexican can add to their own social media profiles to show support for Census
2020.
“We are urging every New Mexicans to participate in the 2020 Census in order to protect resources for
all of our communities,” said Olivia Padilla Jackson, secretary of the New Mexico Department of Finance
and Administration and chair of New Mexico’s Complete Count Commission. “We are committed to
educating every New Mexican about why the 2020 Census is so important and are working every day
with Complete Count Committees to ensure they have adequate resources, share best practices, both
physical and virtual, and provide toolkits, to empower our partners to accomplish our shared goal of a
complete and accurate count”.
For more information or to participate in the fiesta, visit ICountNM on Facebook.
New Mexicans can also sign-up for important census updates and have Census questions answered by
texting CENSUS to 505-560-8848 (CENSO for Spanish).
The decennial Census helps determine allocation of billions of dollars in federal funding. Research
suggests that each New Mexico resident not counted results in a loss of $3,700 per resident, per year.
The opportunity to respond to the 2020 Census began March 12 and is currently scheduled to continue
until Aug 14.
In rural areas and homes with Post Office boxes, U.S. Census Bureau workers go door to door delivering
an official Census, including a unique ID number people can use to complete the Census online or over
the phone.
Because of COVID-19, that door-to-door work has been delayed until mid-April, which means nearly 20
percent of New Mexico homes have yet to receive their official Census invitation. Until they do,
response rates in New Mexico will be artificially low.
