[Colorado-Talk] You Don't Need Your 12-digit Census ID to Complete the online Census!

[Dan Burke]

Yes, you read that right. The 12-digit Census ID is not necessary to
complete the 2020 Census at my2020census.gov.

"But that's the first thing they ask for!" you protest.

Yes, but the secret to success is to continue down that same web page,
past the form fields, past the submit button,  to the link that says:

"If you do not have a Census ID, click here." Once you've clicked on
that, you'll be asked to put in your address.

Here's the information that seems to get obscured for blind folks all
too easily. That code is linked to your street address, and if you put
it in it will pull up your address on the survey. That's all it does.

But it is likely as much work for a blind person to accurately get
that number from the Census Bureau's letter as it would be to just
type your address in. After you type your address in and submit it,
the next page will show you an option or two and ask you to confirm.
It's a little like the process of putting an address into the Uber or
Lyft app. The Census count is tied to your residence, so they want to
confirm the correct address.

So now you know - moving ahead without the 12-digit Census ID is an
option! And in fact, it's easier for most of us because all it does is
save about 40 keystrokes!

https://www.my2020census.gov

Get ready Before You Start

Collect the names, birth dates, sex and racial/ethnic background
information for every person living in your residence as of April 1
and have it at your fingertips when you go online or call. You won't
be asked any questions about your disability. You won't be asked for
your Social Security Number, and none of your information will be
shared with other agencies, immigration officials,  or law
enforcement.

my2020census.gov works great with screen readers
•	At the top of that page it says best to use the latest versions of
Internet Explorer and JAWS. I guess that's what they tested it with.
We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on this one.
•	It works great on your iPhone using Voice Over and Safari. That's
how martin Becerra did his survey.
•	NVDA is the most-used screen reader nowadays in the Windows
environment, and I tested the Census survey pages with both Mozilla
Firefox and Google Chrome browsers. No problems at all!

So, all this accessibility means they built the survey the right way.
Good, because that's the law and it's what we expect them to do!

Telephone
But maybe you don't have a computer or an Internet connection. Just
call. You can call and complete the Census between 5 a.m. and midnight
Colorado time every day.

There are different numbers for fourteen languages, and two numbers
specific to Puerto Rico. Here are English and Spanish:
•	English:  844-330-2020
•	Spanish:  844-468-2020

The Census Contact page has the list of other languages.

https://2020census.gov/en/contact-us.html

This message Is Brought to You By the Number 8

Eight? Yes, because Colorado might get an eighth member of the U.S.
House of Representatives. It just depends on the outcome of the 2020
Census!

Happy counting!


-- 
Dan Burke

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Legislative Coordinator

President, NFB of Denver

"Blindness is not what holds you back.  You can live the life you want!"

My Cell:  406.546.8546
Twitter:  @DallDonal