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Santa Clara County to Put US Census Kiosks at Pop-up Coronavirus Testing Sites

The census kiosks, part of the county's efforts to boost participation in the decennial survey, are a reaction in part to President Trump's recent efforts to exclude undocumented residents from participating.
Jana Kadah
Bay City News
One of the new Santa Clara County census kiosks that will be set up at COVID-19 pop-up testing sites. (Jana Kadah/Bay City News)

Census 2020 electronic kiosks will soon be placed at pop-up COVID-19 testing sites throughout Santa Clara County, officials announced Wednesday.

The move, they said, is being made in part to mitigate the potential impact of President Trump's recently renewed efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count.

The kiosks are also part of a larger effort to ensure that all county residents are counted in the once-a-decade survey, which determines congressional representation and redistricting and informs how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal spending are locally allocated each year. That funding is used for schools, roads and hospitals, among many other public resources.

Electronic tablets will be available for people to fill out their census forms while waiting to get tested.

“Our team is committed to make sure we have a full count here in Santa Clara County because that is our right," said Nick Kuwada, manager of the county's census effort. “When you fill out the census, you are helping yourself, you are helping your community, especially in this time of COVID-19.”

Thirty percent of households in Santa Clara County have not yet participated in this year's census, according to county data.


“Right now, we are using 2010 data to distribute COVID-19 resources and I can tell you that the effects of this pandemic range far beyond the next couple of years,” Kuwada said. “We need to be prepared, make sure our voice is heard and get the money we deserve so we can have equitable relief here in Santa Clara County.”

Last week, Trump signed a memo that seeks to have the U.S.
Department of Commerce, which oversees the Census Bureau, count only citizens and certain immigrants when determining congressional seats. The directive, though, won't have any practical impact because the census does not ask whether immigrants are undocumented, and federal law bars the use of estimates in redistricting.

In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the administration's efforts to place a citizenship question on the census.

“As we look across the country, we have watched on a national level the president of the United States try to erase voices,” Santa Clara Supervisor Cindy Chavez said. “Whether you are a citizen or not, making sure we are not erased is really important.”

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Santa Clara County has about 200,000 undocumented residents, or roughly 10% of the population, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center study.

Information collected by the census is kept confidential, ensuring undocumented residents are not at risk if they participate, according to David Campos, Santa Clara's deputy county executive.

“To make it very clear, the motivations behind the president's
memo are purely political,” said Efraín Delgado, a community organizer with the Asian Law Alliance, one of the groups working with the county to boost census participation. “He seeks to suppress census participation in order to skew the congressional map.”

In mid-March, invitations to participate in the census were mailed to every U.S. household, regardless of citizenship status. This is the first year the census questionnaire can be completed online — as well as by mail or phone. For households that have not yet completed it, Census Bureau employees will begin in-person interviews at people's homes starting on Aug. 11. Forms must be completed by Oct. 31.

Residents can complete the census questionnaire online here or by calling 844 330-2020, toll-free.

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