A newly created committee will be making sure all Wisconsinites complete the 2020 census. In Milwaukee Monday, Governor Tony Evers issued an executive order creating the Complete Count Committee, in what he said will be a statewide effort.

“I understand the strength in numbers, and clearly we want to have a good sign-up here in Milwaukee, and Racine, Kenosha, Beloit, Green Bay and all across the state. But we do have pockets of people outstate who are not participating in the census,” Evers said.

The committee will work to educate people on the importance of the census, develop outreach strategies to reach hard-to-count communities, and identify and reduce barriers that impede participation in the census process.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said it’s critical that every Wisconsin resident is counted. “Because when we count our people, we are saying to the federal government, and we are saying to our residents, ‘you matter.’ And all of our residents matter to us, and that’s why we take this so seriously.”

“Ensuring a fair and accurate count in the 2020 census is essential to the future of our state, as it determines how more than $600 billion in federal funding will be distributed and how Wisconsin’s next electoral maps will be drawn,” Evers said.