Reminder postcards going out for 2020 Census

City of Stonecrest seeks creative ways to reach its hard-to-count population

The U.S. Census Bureau is beginning to send reminder notice postcards to an estimated 69 million households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census.

Households will receive reminder postcards in the mail between April 27-May 9, census officials say. The Census Bureau pushed back the mailing to allow the paper questionnaire package to arrive several days ahead of the postcard. The postcard is one reminder in a series of reminders that the Census Bureau has mailed non-responding households since mid-March urging them to respond.

About 53.4% of households across the country have already responded to the census since invitations began arriving in mailboxes on March 12. Those households that have not yet responded to the census will receive an in-person visit by a census taker to collect their information later this summer.

The city of Stonecrest, DeKalb County’s largest municipality with 54,000 residents, is pushing for 100 percent participation. Stonecrest City Councilman George Turner said at Monday’s (April 27) council meeting that the city will begin looking for creative ways to reach the city’s hard-to-count population as it steps up efforts to count every resident in the new city.

The city has been proactive in encouraging residents  to participate in the mandatory census. Mayor Jason Lary recently produced a video demonstrating how easy it is to fill out the questionnaire online.

Turner said the Census has had to re-work some to its deadlines due to the COVID-19 pandemic but reiterated that everyone must move forward in getting participation.

“We can’t waste any more time. We need to reach  apartment dwellers in the Hillandale and Chupp Road areas, as well as the Rockland Road area,” said Turner, who heads the city’s Complete Count Census Committee.

Turner said the Stonecrest Complete Count Census Committee plans to hold a virtual meeting on Thursday, May 7, 6:30 p.m. to discuss ideas.

According to the Census Bureau’s online response map tracking the nation’s participation in the census, almost 79 million households have already responded online, by phone or by mail.

States with the highest response include, (top 5 states).

• Minnesota 64.0%
• Iowa 61.2%
• Wisconsin 60.8%
• Nebraska 60.7%
• Michigan 60.0%

Counties with 250,000 or more population with the highest response rate include (top 5 counties).

• Washington County, Minnesota 73.6%
• Anoka County, Minnesota 72.9%
• Waukesha County, Wisconsin 72.5%
• Dakota County, Minnesota 71.8%
• Macomb County, Michigan 70.2%

The Census Bureau strongly encourages the public to respond online at 2020census.gov. Households can respond online in English or 12 other languages or by phone. Households can also respond by mail using the paper questionnaire that was recently mailed to every non-responding address. Households that received a census invitation in the mail and have yet to respond will receive a paper questionnaire by April 30.

Census takers will visit every address that does not respond on their own to collect responses in person. Responding now to the 2020 Census will minimize the need for a census taker to visit your home later this year. For more information, visit 2020census.gov.