Aloha, Friend.

I write today to request your urgent assistance in helping our Hawai‘i reach a 100% count on the 2020 Census by the September 30th deadline.

Since I first  e-mailed on our once-every-ten-years national Census in February, our country and world have been wracked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Every Census is a crucial undertaking with wide-ranging impacts on fair and equal political representation and federal funding that last for a decade, but this COVID-19 crisis has only made the 2020 Census even more critical.

Because Census data is used to allocate over $1.5 trillion in federal funding each year, the recovery and long-term health of Hawaii’s communities depend in large part on a fair and accurate count in this year’s Census. Already, COVID-19 relief and recovery assistance approved by Congress through the CARES Act has been allocated according to 2010 Census data. Data from the 2020 Census will drive federal dollars for over 300 federal programs as well as assistance for COVID-19 and other emergencies for the next decade. 

As of Monday, September 14th, Hawai‘i ranks third in the nation at 98.4% in terms of total count, though our self-response rate remains low at 62.3%. We are so close to a full 100% enumeration, but the remaining uncounted households include some of our most vulnerable and hard-to-count populations. We need everyone to be fully counted to ensure a fair and accurate enumeration for our Hawai‘i.

I am asking for your special help in making one last great push ahead of the September 30th deadline to your families, friends and communities on behalf of the 2020 Census. Please urge all you know to respond if they have not already done so and to spread the word among their families, friends and communities too. This is as easy as forwarding this e-newsletter to your contacts and posting about the 2020 Census on social media and asking others to do the same.

There are multiple ways to respond to the 2020 Census, but by far the easiest way is through the online form at https://my2020census.gov. For other ways to respond to the Census, such as by phone or mail, please visit https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond.html.

For those who are visited personally by a Census taker, please urge them to treat these local community members conducting an essential constitutional responsibility with aloha and answer their quick questions. 

As English is a second language for so many among us in Hawai’i, we especially want to note that the 2020 Census is the first in our history to feature significantly expanded language access. Overall, the 2020 Census has provided language guides in 59 non-English languages. For the full set of language resources for this year’s Census, including print and video materials, please visit https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/2020-census/planning-management/language-resources.html.

If you haven’t already, please also sign up for my regular e-newsletter at https://case.house.gov/contact/newsletter-subscribe and follow my social media accounts for a closer look at my daily activities both in Hawai‘i and Washington, DC. You can find me @RepEdCase on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or you can use the links at the right-hand sidebar above. There is also more information on me, my office, activities and services I can provide for you and your ‘ohana at my website (case.house.gov).

Thank you for your consideration and for all that you can do to help all of us with the 2020 Census. Together, we are setting the best possible foundation for Hawaii’s future.

Mahalo nui loa, and be well.

P.S. Please sign up for my regular e-newsletter here.