NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises is working with the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officers Education Fund to boost Latino response to the U.S. census after an analysis found that less than 20% of Puerto Ricans and Latinos have completed Census forms.
To boost that response rate Telemundo and NALEO will hold a day of action on June 17 that will feature phone banks and digital and direct marketing efforts.
The Latino response rate compares to a national average of 61.4%. Counties in the U.S. with Latino populations of 75 percent or more, tend to be the most under counted.
“Our partnership with NALEO reaffirms that there is urgent work to be done to ensure Latinos are accurately counted in the 2020 Census, as this will determine the allocation of funds that provides critical services to our communities,” said Christina Kolbjornsen, senior VP of corporate and external affairs at NBCU Telemundo. “Now, more than ever, it is our responsibility to continue engaging and informing not only the Latino community but all others at risk of being miscounted on the importance of completing the 2020 Census.”
The effort is part of Telemundo’s robust civic engagement campaign, Hazte Contar (Get Counted).
“Our organization’s work to reach Latinos and motivate higher self-response rates in the 2020 Census is in full flux as census operations resume amid COVID-19,” stated NALEO Educational Fund CEO, Arturo Vargas.
“Our relationship with Telemundo has been critical in connecting our work to Latinos through Spanish-language media. We know that during the economic turmoil brought on by COVID-19, Census Bureau operational changes, and misinformation around the census, Latinos continue to have lower self-response rates than the general population. Our efforts with Telemundo seek to mitigate these barriers to participation and empower Latinos with the information we need to make ourselves seen and heard by participating in the census,” Vargas said.
