A reminder to fill out Census, help friends, family who lack online access

There are well-known barriers to engaging in the important civic duty of participating in the 2020 Census, especially for people of color and immigrants. One barrier that has not received much attention is lack of internet access, which affects people of all ethnicities or immigration status, as well as the elderly.

Filling out the census questions at my2020census.gov is very easy, but people who can’t get to the Census website might be waiting for an outreach worker to contact them.

Here’s a better idea: Those who have internet access should help their family and friends who do not have the resources to get online. Helping someone submit their Census information is perfectly legal: the Census website states that the questionnaire “should be completed by the person who owns or rents the living quarters or any other person who is at least 15 years of age with knowledge of the household.”

Helping others can be done while maintaining social distancing, by obtaining the necessary information over the telephone. If someone has discarded the mailer form with their Census ID number, the questionnaire can still be completed online.

So in addition to performing your civic duty by completing the 2020 Census for yourself, help out your family and friends who want to be counted, but just need a little technological help to get the job done.

Marie Lindsey, New Lenox