A new analysts released Wednesday by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, in partnership with NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, shows that self-response rates in states with large Latino populations are lagging behind the rest of the U.S.
As a result, NALEO and Telemundo are teaming up to increase the Latino Census count.
A joint day of action is being held across June 17. It features live phone banks designed to help increase Latino self-response rates in the 2020 Census.
NALEO Educational Fund and Telemundo are also spending Wednesday engaging with consumers through digital and direct marketing targeting efforts to help raise awareness about the importance of participating in the decennial census.
New analysis of current self-response data shows rates at 57.9% in Arizona, 62.4% in California, 58.6% in Florida, 49.8%in New Mexico, 56.6% in New York, and 56.1% in Texas.
As the self-response rates in these highly populated states affect the national average of 61.4%, there are several indicators that Latino self-response rates are lower, and that the higher the Latino share of a population, the lower the total self-response rate is for that location.
Additionally, Puerto Rico, while outside of the continental United States, currently has a self-response rate that is 18.9%.
As these six states account for two-thirds of the national Latino population (around 38,212,504), targeted efforts within their respective media markets can have positive effects on increasing Latino participation nationwide.
These target areas include the following:
[1] Updated 6/15/20; Self-response rates are the Total Self-Response Rate for each county. Self-response rates are not of a specific demographic group in each county.
| Additional GEO | Total Self-Response Rate for Each Geography (Updated 6/15) | Latino Share for Each Geography | Latino Population for Each Geography |
| Nevada | 60.7 | 28.5% | 831,597 |
| Las Vegas City | 63.0 | 32.9% | 206,031 |
| Texas | 56.1 | 39.2% | 10,921,556 |
| El Paso City | 61.1 | 80.9% | 550,710 |
| Massachusetts | 63.4 | 11.6% | 789,127 |
| Boston City | 51.3 | 19.7% | 133,893 |
| District of Columbia | 57.4 | 10.9% | 74,776 |
| Washington, DC | 57.4 | 10.9% | 74,776 |
| Colorado | 64.6 | 21.4% | 1,184,794 |
| Denver | 63.3 | 30.3% | 209,859 |
| New York | 56.6 | 18.9% | 3,705,588 |
| Kings County (Includes Brooklyn) | 49.3 | 19.2% | 499,279 |
| Richmond County (Includes Staten Island) | 57.5 | 18.3% | 86,976 |
| Florida | 58.6 | 25.2% | 5,184,720 |
| Hillsborough County | 60.0 | 28.0% | 386,478 |
| Polk County | 57.2 | 21.5% | 143,958 |
| Pinellas County | 62.1 | 9.4% | 90,359 |
| Manatee County | 55.5 | 16.2% | 60,515 |
| Broward County | 57.1 | 29.1% | 554,609 |
| Illinois | 66.2 | 17% | 2,174,842 |
| Cook County | 60.8 | 25.2% | 1,314,232 |
| Chicago City | 53.8 | 29.0% | 788,140 |
Furthermore, areas with large Latino populations, like Puerto Rico and regions within the six targeted states in this joint media effort, are enumerated by Census Bureau operations that have been affected and delayed by COVID-19, exacerbating existing barriers to Latino participation.
“As these operations adjust and resume amid the pandemic, partnerships between Spanish-language media and nonprofits are critical to increasing Latino self-response rates,” NALEO and Telemundo noted.
BILINGUAL DIGITAL TOWN HALLS
NALEO Educational Fund and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises scheduled two virtual townhalls, where they will release new analysis outlining the state of Latino participation in Census 2020.
A Spanish-language session was set for 10am PT; and an English-language session was scheduled for 11:30am PT.
NALEO Educational Fund, Telemundo, and its local stations are also hosting a nationwide phone bank utilizing NALEO Educational Fund’s toll-free national census bilingual hotline at 877-EL-CENSO (877-352-3676).
Residents can self-respond to the census online at https://my2020census.gov/ or over the phone in English by dialing 844-330-2020 or in Spanish at 844-468-2020.
Individuals with questions about the census can call NALEO Educational Fund’s toll-free national census bilingual hotline at 877-EL-CENSO (877-352-3676) – Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.– 8:30 p.m. ET to get additional information.
