Civic Participation

Encouraging full participation in democratic processes, civic life, and issues of public concern as a societal right and responsibility.

Why this is important:

Only 68.3% of eligible votes in Pennsylvania voted in the 2018 election, with only 41.2% of eligible Hispanic voters and 62.9% of Black voters participating (Census Voting and Registration Data, 2018).
In the June 2nd primary, there was higher voter turnout than expected, yet only 42% of those eligible to vote cast a ballot (Martin, 2020).
As the pandemic makes it likely many will vote via mail-in-ballot, we need to ensure people know key dates to ensure they are able to vote (e.g.-- the deadline to register for a mail-in-ballot and according to USPS, voters should give their ballot 14-days to arrive)
2020 is a Census Year. Data from the census determine congressional representation, inform hundreds of billions in federal funding every year, and provide data that will impact communities for the next decade.
- Right now, Allegheny County’s self-response rate is only 68.2% as compared to 71.3% of the final self-response rate for the 2010 Census (HTC, 2020).
- However, some areas have much lower response rates, including Oakland, McKees Rocks, Homewood, East Hills, McKeesport and Braddock, who in May had between 60% and 80% of their 2010 response rate (Rihl, 2020).

Allegheny County Poll Workers: Sign up now to become a registered poll worker for the general election on Tuesday, November 3.

Census 2020: Complete your census by Wednesday, September 30.

Martin, A. (2020, June 18). Stronger than expected primary voter turnout causing Allegheny County election officials to turn their attention to November. Retrieved September 07, 2020, from https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/stronger-than-expected-primary-voter-turnout-causing-allegheny-county-election-officials-turn-their-attention-november/6PYWOGNXKZFWDD7JPURCCG64SA/

Rihl, J. (2020, May 15). COVID-19 disrupted the census. But accurate counts are needed to guide aid, recovery efforts and maybe even vaccines. - PublicSource: News for a better Pittsburgh. Retrieved September 07, 2020, from https://www.publicsource.org/covid-19-disrupted-the-census-but-accurate-counts-are-needed-to-guide-aid-recovery-efforts-and-maybe-even-vaccines/

U.S. Census Bureau. (2020, February 03). Population and Voting Rates for Congressional Districts: 2018. Retrieved September 07, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/voting-and-registration/congressional-voting-tables.html