Next Century Cities’ 2020 Census Kiosk Toolkit

How will 2020 – the first online census – offer new challenges? Historically, the census has always been completed using paper forms. But in 2020, the census will be conducted primarily online for the first time. While there will still be options to respond with a paper form or via phone, most homes will receive an invitation to complete the census online. While an online census could cut costs, it also has serious implications for hard to count communities, who are often less likely to have reliable internet access and/or digital literacy skills. With new emphasis on online census participation, vulnerable populations are perhaps more at risk than ever of being undercounted, which could result in underrepresentation when districts are drawn and underallocation of resources and services.

What can local governments do to encourage online responses? Local governments are well positioned to work with stakeholders and implement programs to encourage online census responses. Local leaders should make a point of engaging with groups that are already doing work to address digital access and literacy, such as libraries. Organizations such as these often have resources in place to help, and are engaged with communities that would most benefit. Municipalities can consider working with internet service providers to make public internet access temporarily available to help individuals respond to the census online. Some nonprofits are already working to make hotspots available for this purpose.  Local governments can also implement programs to make public devices, or “kiosks,” available for online census participation. Deploying internet-connected kiosks in public places across the community can help remove barriers to participating in the census online, such as access to a device or a home internet connection. Public kiosks also make it easy for people to complete the census in places that they already spend time, such as in line at the post office or in the library.  Many local governments have designed creative kiosk programs in efforts to make online census participation more accessible.