Could the 2020 Census Help Bridge the Digital Divide?

The 2020 US Census will be the nation’s first high-tech count, with residents encouraged to primarily respond online. While this has the potential to foster a more efficient Census, advocates and officials say many hard-to-count populations are not comfortable using computers. Or lack access to high-speed Internet at home. Or have cybersecurity concerns. Or don’t know how to find and fill out the Census online. There is, simply put, a long list of obstacles related to the US’ widening digital divide, with digital divide meaning that as our society has advanced — coming to rely on the Internet for everything from education to finding health care to applying for housing or jobs — some residents have been left behind. Part of the challenge for April’s 2020 count is that Census volunteers and other advocates must help large groups of the population overcome the digital divide. As prep ramps up for the 2020 Census, there are already several examples of this nationwide.

Fair Count in GA has created a digital equity initiative that partners with trusted entities for residents of rural GA— faith-based organizations. As part of a pilot project primarily with churches, Census advocates in GA are setting up 25 digital inclusion installations, complete with high-speed Internet access, tablets and other technology. In May, the Philadelphia Digital Literacy Alliance — a coalition of public-private stakeholders essentially convened by the city — announced that an upcoming round of grant-making would go entirely toward digital inclusion work that also supported the Census. Similar digital skills training is underway in Detroit, with that city working to refine its data about communities and also train local Census workers in how to best use related technologies. And, public library systems across the country are working to help populations complete the Census digitally.