Governor Gavin Newsom has released his latest “On the Record” column encouraging Californians to get counted in the 2020 Census by September 30. The column is part of a media collaboration with California Black Media, Ethnic Media Services, ImpreMedia, Univision and LGBTQ outlets Bay Area Reporter and Los Angeles Blade to contribute original content from the Governor on important topics impacting Californians, including the state’s diverse communities. Any media outlet is welcome to pull the column from the Governor’s website to publish on their platforms.
The column coincides with the statewide week of action urging all Californians to participate in the 2020 Census following the U.S. Census Bureau’s decision to end its counting efforts on September 30, a month earlier than originally planned.
“It’s our mission to include every community in the Census count, including ones who have previously been left out due to language and cultural barriers, fear or misinformation,” wrote the Governor in his column. “We’ve made historic investments in ensuring every single person living in California – especially those in hard-to-count communities – is counted. That includes working with non-profit organizations and ethnic media partners to ensure we reach every Californian in the language they speak.”
California made significant investments in a statewide outreach and communication campaign focusing on the hardest-to-count residents, including Native Americans, immigrants, non-English speakers, diverse communities and children. Working in partnership with local governments, tribal governments, community-based organizations and media, the state is funding efforts that will complement work being done nationally by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Every Californian can respond to the Census online at my2020census.gov and by phone by calling the numbers available here. Paper forms received in the mail can also be filled out and mailed back. The “On the Record with Gavin Newsom” column will be translated into at least six languages and published online or in print in over 50 participating media outlets.