Census Counts 2020 is a project of the Leadership Conference Education Fund, the 501(c)(3) component of Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a left-of-center civil rights-focused political advocacy group which has staunchly opposed President Donald Trump. The program aims to increase participation among demographic groups likely to support liberal policies and the Democratic Party in the 2020 Census to influence future voting and government funding.

Goals

Every ten years, the federal government conducts a national census upon which the following decade’s congressional and state legislative maps, as well as Electoral College allocations, are based. These allocations impact both state and federal elections as well as the distribution of over $800 billion in annual federal funding. ¹ Census Counts 2020 promotes the 2020 census to groups which are likely to vote for the Democratic Party to increase the party’s Congressional and electoral power. Target groups include:²

• Racial minorities
• Immigrants
• Union members
• Disabled individuals
• Infants and children
• Low-income individuals
• Homeless people
• Teachers
• Healthcare workers
• Particular faith-based communities

Action Groups

Census Counts 2020 divides its efforts into three “action groups.” ² The Get Out the Count Coalition is a toolkit distributed nationally to community organizing groups to promote participation in the census. ³ The States Count Action Network coordinates state-level census-promoting organizations in all 50 states. ⁴ Census Champions is a network of elected officials, Native American tribal officials, and library trustees who oversee the administration of the 2020 census at the local level. ¹

Leadership

Census Counts 2020 is led by long-time left-of-center activists and Democratic Party supporters, including numerous former employees of Planned Parenthood, which is also a partner organization of Census Counts 2020. ⁵

Director Beth Lynk campaigned for President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection, worked as a digital strategy consultant for Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and worked in multiple capacities for Planned Parenthood for three years. ⁶ National communications director Tamika Turner worked for Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and for Planned Parenthood for almost three years. ⁷ Senior field manager Diali Avila worked for the National Immigration Law Center and as a program manager at Planned Parenthood. ⁸

Partner Organizations

Census Counts 2020 works with dozens of national and state-level left-of-center organizations to coordinate efforts and mobilize census takers. The group’s national partners include:⁹

• American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
• American Atheists
• American Library Association
• Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO
• American Federation of Teachers
• The Arc
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice
• Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote
• Black Alliance for Just Immigration
• CLASP
• Center for Popular Democracy
• Civic Nation
• Community Resource Exchange
• Creative Alliance
• Color of Change
• Common Cause
• Community Action Partnership
• Community Change Voters
• Disability Rights Education & Defense Funds
• Diversity Matters
• EPIC
• Fair Immigration Reform Movement
• Faith in Action
• Faith in Public Life
• Girls Inc.
• Hester Street
• Indivisible Project
• Jewish Council for Public Affairs
• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
• League of Conservation Voters
• League of Women Voters
• Mi Familia Vota Education Fund
• MomsRising
• National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
• National Center for Learning Disabilities
• National Coalition for Literacy
• National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
• National Congress for American Indians
• National Disability Rights Network
• National Education Association
• National Korean American Service and Education Consortium
• National Fair Housing Alliance
• National League of Cities
• National LGBTQ Task Force
• National Urban League
• New American Majority Fund
• Next Day Better
• Partnership for America’s Children
• PFLAG National
• Planned Parenthood
• Poder Latinx
• Ready Nation
• SEARAC
• Service Employees International Union
• South Asians for America
• State Innovation Exchange
• State Voices
• Students Learn Students Vote
• United Way Worldwide
• United We Dream
• When We All Vote

1. “Census Champions.” Census 2020. Accessed April 18, 2020. https://censuscounts.org/censuschampions/.
2. “About Us.” Census Counts 2020. Accessed April 18, 2020. https://censuscounts.org/about/.
3. “Get Out the Count Toolkit.” Census Counts 2020. Accessed April 18, 2020. https://censuscounts.org/gotc-toolkit/.
4. “Resources in Your States.” Census Counts 2020. Accessed April 18, 2020. https://censuscounts.org/state-by-state/.
5. “Our Staff.” Census Counts 2020. Accessed April 18, 2020. https://censuscounts.org/about/.
6. “Beth Lynk.” Linkedin. Accessed April 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethlynk/.
7. “Tamika Turner.” Linkedin. Accessed April 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamikavalerieturner/.
8. “Diali Avila.” Linkedin. Accessed April 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dialiavila/.
9. “Our Partners.” Census Counts 2020. Accessed April 18, 2020. https://censuscounts.org/about-cc/.