Lansing, Detroit regions lag on 2020 Census follow-up as Oct. 31 deadline looms
Sarah LehrCensus follow-up response rates in the Detroit and Lansing regions are trailing other parts of Michigan as workers visit households that failed to respond initially.
Lagging regions will have more time to catch up after a federal judge extended the deadline for filling out the 2020 U.S. Census until Oct. 31. That could change, however, if the Trump administration successfully appeals to revert to an earlier deadline.
Local leaders have a stake in making sure people respond before then since population statistics from the census shape the distribution of billions in federal funding for issues such as housing, health care and education. A local community gets an estimated $1,800 in federal funding from each person who completes the census.
"What we're trying to do is making sure we get our fair share of tax dollars back to Lansing," said Sam Singh, a former Democratic state representative hired by Lansing to promote census response in the city.
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And the constitutionally required tally of everyone in the country determines how many seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The census went live earlier this year, giving people the opportunity to "self-respond" to a handful of demographic questions online, over the phone or by mail. The failure of people to respond triggers an follow-up effort from the Census Bureau that can culminate in a census worker knocking on someone's door.
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Where Michigan regions stand
Michigan is divided into five regional census hubs, and the Lansing region ranks second-to-last for follow-up response rates, according to data published Thursday afternoon.
In the Lansing region, which spans 17 counties in south and west Michigan including Ingham, Eaton and Clinton, 87.3% of the households targeted for follow-up response outreach have responded.
The Detroit area ranks last with a follow-up response rate of 86.6% and the Macomb County area has the best ranking at 95.8%.
Click here for a map of census response rates by region
Michigan response slightly higher than nation's
The regional follow-up response rate is not to be confused with the total number of households that have responded to the census. Across Michigan, 97.1% households have responded to the census so far, a hair above the national total of 96.6%, according to data published Thursday.
Nearly 71% of the state's households responded initially online or via phone or mail and about 26% responded as the result of follow-up contact from the Census Bureau.
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Certain demographics, including racial minorities, immigrants, children under 5 and people living in group housing such as dorm rooms or prisons, are considered particularly hard to count based on past research. Experts have suggested factors such as mistrust of the federal government could make people less likely to respond initially to the census.
Parts of Lansing are considered particularly hard to count, but Singh said he was encouraged by a self-response rate in the city at 69% of households as of this week, which is close to the statewide rate of 70.9% The Census Bureau has not made non-response follow-up rates available on a city by city basis.
This spring, federal officials indicated the final deadline for collecting census responses would be Oct. 31. That shifted in August when the Census Bureau announced it would cut that deadline short to Sept. 30, allowing officials to deliver completed population data to the White House by Dec. 31 instead of a previously set date of April 2021.
A coalition of local governments and civil rights organizations sued over the shortened deadline, arguing it would result in inaccuracies, including an undercount of minorities. A federal judge agreed, issuing an injunction Thursday to push the deadline for collecting responses to Halloween.
Singh is hoping that timeline stands, noting that the COVID-19 outbreak threw a wrench into census operations. Because of the pandemic, Lansing-area leaders shifted their promotion strategy from large in-person events to phone banking and digital advertising.
"It’s really important that (the Census Bureau) gets that time for door to door outreach," Singh said.
Respond to the Census
Go to my2020census.gov or call 844-330-2020.
Contact reporter Sarah Lehr at slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGLehr.