Hunthausen reminds residents of importance of 2020 Census

Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Andy Hunthausen reminded people the 2020 Census is on the horizon, and the accuracy of the count could have lasting consequences for the state, the county and for Lincoln itself.

"It is super-double-triple important," Hunthausen, a co-chair of the county's Complete Count Committee, said at Lincoln's Nov. 1 Government Day meeting. He said the goal of the Complete Count Committee is to be sure people understand the importance of the census, which is mandated every ten years under Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, and to ensure the best populations count possible.

"The reason it's so important is it represents significant resources for our communities." Hunthausen said. "In general, everything from schools to infrastructure to services. Population numbers for areas are how we get some of that federal money back."

Hunthausen explained that it's estimated each person represents about $2000 per year in funding for state and local government, which impacts resources for everything from infrastructure to health care to grants. He said if one person isn't counted, that amounts to a loss of about $20,000 in potential resource funding over the ten-year census period.

The census also carries implications for the state's political clout in Washington D.C. From 1913 until 1990 Montana had two seats in Congress. Following the 1990 Census, congressional district sizes were reapportioned at 572,000 people. With a population hovering at around one million, the state hasn't had the population to qualify for a second congressional seat in 30 years.

"We're one of those states that's right on the cusp of getting another representative in Congress," Hunthausen said. "A good count improves the chances of getting over that hump and getting another seat in Congress."

Congressional seats not only provide representation in the federal government, they also determine the number of electors the state has in the electoral college.

Hunthausen said the committee's focus is on the populations and areas that have historically been difficult to count accurately. Lincoln, as an unincorporated community in a rural area, falls into that category.

Rural areas have been difficult to count in part because the U.S. Census Bureau typically sends out forms and information to physical addresses, rather than to post office boxes. Zach Muse, Lincoln's Post Master, said the fact the forms are typically addressed to "Resident," rather than to an individual adding to the difficulty of getting them out to people with boxes. Muse said last year they developed a "ghost" database for post office box customers that shows the physical address of the post office box customer. By doing so, the physical address is shown as a real place in the post office box database, and the mail with that can now get to post office boxes. Muse estimated that should increase census form deliveries by 50 percent or more.

Mail isn't the only way the Census Bureau reaches people for the count, however, and Hunthausen reminded people that the Census Bureau is currently hiring. On Oct. 22, the bureau launched their effort to hire 500,000 temporary workers for the 2020 Census. Recruiting runs through January, followed by job offers and background checks for selected applicants. Paid Training begins in March and the work itself runs from April through July. Temporary census workers in Montana earn $13.50 per hour. Visit https://2020census.gov/en/jobs.html for more details.

The 2020 Census also will mark the first-time people can respond online.

Hunthausen prompted members of the community to talk about the census at the community meetings they attend," We're hoping everyone will take it seriously and make sure you get counted, your neighbors get counted and be talking about it in the community," he said.