What can you do for New Mexico? Fill out your Census

How would you like to make $30,000 for the state of New Mexico?
You can do it easily, in less than 10 minutes.
By now, you have probably received in the mail one or two pieces of information with your Census
code. With or without it, you can go to my2020census.gov, answer a few questions and go back to
whatever you were doing.
The Time of Coronavirus makes everything more stressful, but unless you are a healthcare worker, a
grocery store employee or a truck driver (if so, thank God for all of you!), you may find yourself with a
little extra time on your hands. Please use just a few of those minutes to fill out your Census.
Historically, New Mexico does a lousy job at filling out our Census.
Unfortunately, that costs us a lot of money for many programs our state badly needs.
According to a study from the University of New Mexico, our state had the second-worst response
rate in the 2010 Census. The same study showed that, in the 2000 Census, New Mexico had an
undercount of 2 percent, amounting to 35,000 people.
So far in 2020, we’re again behind the curve. According the Census figures as of April 6, the national
self-response rate for the 2020 Census so far is 45.7 percent. New Mexico is more than 10 points
behind at 34.7 percent.
We need you to start reversing that trend.
If New Mexico undercounts again in 2020, it could result in a loss of $600 million over 10 years.
For every person not counted on the Census form, it will cost the state approximately $3,000 every
year for the next decade. So, reversing that equation, in essence, if you take the time to fill it out,
you’ll earn about $30,000 for the state for each person in your household.
In case you weren’t aware, New Mexico is one of the poorest states in the nation, and our people rely
disproportionately on programs such as Medicaid, transportation grants, education grants, Section 8
Housing vouchers, Community Development Block Grants, Head Start, grants for community mental
health services, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – also known as SNAP – and many
others. Those programs receive vital federal funding based on the Census data.
Many public amenities are funded through the numbers reported in the Census. Highways, state
roads and other transit projects use money based on those numbers. Teacher’s grants and special
education rely on funding from accurate numbers. Even diverse efforts like preventing wildfires,
preventing child abuse and supporting rural areas rely on accurate counts.
Rural areas are particularly vulnerable to undercounting
In fact, when it comes to the demographics and geography issues that make people at risk of being
counted, New Mexico ticks off all the boxes: Native Americans, Hispanics, African Americans, children
0-4, impoverished, colonias, immigrants, remote rural areas and the homeless.
It should be noted there is no citizenship question on the Census.
I went online the other night and filled out the whole thing in less than six minutes.
Basically, it’s five or six questions: your name, your age, your gender and the heritage of your
ancestors, and that same information for the other members of your household.
And while filling it out online is quick and easy, not everyone has Internet access, especially in New
Mexico. If you don’t have Internet, or know someone who doesn’t, call 1-844-330-2020, toll-free, and
a form will be mailed to you.
Here’s your chance to stand up and be counted, and you can even do it sitting down.
Do it for yourself. Do it for your neighbor. Do it for New Mexico.