Important to Latinos

What distinguishes our project from other Census 2010 efforts is our emphasis on the critical linkage of the Census data to political empowerment and redistricting in Latino communities.

Census undercounts have led to a serious lack of Latino representation during elections – and thus the loss of political power and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid to localities.

LatinoJustice PRLDEF's Census 2010 project addresses these problems in two ways:

1. By reaching out to the Latino community in several states, we will allay fears and inform people of the primary importance of participating in the Census.
2. By educating Latinos on the importance of participating, monitoring and testifying during the 2011 reapportionment and redistricting activities.

We are focusing our work in Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and other Eastern U.S. communities that have seen large increases in the Latino population – and where an accurate count will affect Congressional reapportionment outcomes.

Latinos, if properly accounted for in the 2010 Census, will have a major impact on the Congressional reapportionment in several key states. Our efforts to ensure that the seriously undercounted and underserved Latino population will be accurately counted could have major political and financial effects for Latinos and for all residents in the states we are working with.