New York Governor Andrew Cuomo celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day by announcing the creation of a Census Council.
“The Census Council will be designing an organization and coordination plan to make sure we’re doing everything we can to get the best, most accurate census count that we can. And I’m honored that we have co-chairs of the Census Council, Martin Luther King III, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Lucy Liu.”
Cuomo says Dr. King devoted his life to expanding voter rights and making sure that every voice was heard.
Secretary of the State Rossana Rosado says the council will reach out to communities that are often left out of the count. She says infants and preschoolers are among the hardest groups to count.
“Because parents don’t know that they should be counted, you know, don’t understand that it’s important to count them. One of our major efforts is to educate parents through the school system.”
Language can also be a barrier to the census. Rosado says the state’s new census webpage is available in 103 languages. She says this will ensure that all New Yorkers can get the information they need to be counted.
Cuomo says he will propose an additional $10 million in this year’s budget for the 2020 census, which would bring the state’s financial support for the count to $70 million.
