Jason Dzwinel filled out his U.S. Census information the day the postcard came in the mail.
After walking out to his mailbox, he stepped into his office, which — due to the coronavirus pandemic — was also his kitchen, and figured: "Why not fill it out right now?" A few minutes later he was done.
Apparently quite a few people were like the Ozaukee County administrator, because Dzwinel's county is No. 1 in the nation — not just Wisconsin — for reporting census information.
"We're always happy to be a leader," Dzwinel joked Tuesday.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, or maybe because most everyone was bored at home, almost seven in 10 households in Wisconsin have filled out their census forms.
In fact, the top three counties in the nation to self-report their census information are in southeast Wisconsin, the so-called WOW counties — Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington.
Wow, indeed.
Ozaukee County leads the United States with 81.6% of households reporting their census information, followed by Washington County at 81.4% and Waukesha at 81.2%.
Not surprisingly, the WOW counties routinely rank among the top five in voter participation in Wisconsin and they have ranked among the very top counties nationally in turnout of voting-age citizens in recent presidential elections.
Port Washington Mayor Marty Becker went online to file his census form within three days of getting the information in the mail.
"I think people in Port and the rest of Ozaukee County are conscientious and they do their civic duty," said Becker, a pharmacist who became mayor in 2018. "You're supposed to return the census and they do. It's pretty simple."
Dzwinel, who returned last week to his actual office at the Ozaukee County seat of Port Washington, attributes some of the high participation rates in the WOW counties to the growth in people telecommuting during the safer at home order.
Had there not been the COVID-19 outbreak "I would normally get the card and throw it in my laptop bag for work and get to it sometime," Dzwinel said.
In Wisconsin, the WOW counties were followed by Calumet County (80.7%) and Outagamie County, 79.2%, in the top five, according to statistics released Monday.
The bottom five counties in the state were Sawyer County at 31.7%; Forest and Florence counties, both at 30.5%; Vilas County at 27.6%; and Menominee County at 13.9%.
Lower rates reflect the fact that people who get mail through post office boxes, which is common in rural areas, are just now starting to get census forms dropped off at their properties. And response rates are often lower in counties with lots of cottages and cabins owned by folks who live elsewhere.
Milwaukee County ranked 40th out of the state's 72 counties with a 64% response rate.
The national response rate is 61.4%, according to the data released this week. Among states, Minnesota leads the pack with a 70.9% response; Wisconsin is second at 68.4%.
Count will continue into October
The once-a-decade national headcount began in March and April with census forms and postcards appearing in mailboxes. For the first time, folks could fill out their information online, and were encouraged to do so because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
So far more than 90 million households nationwide have provided census information either online, by mail or by phone.
The census, which is required by the U.S. Constitution, normally begins in-person follow-ups with unresponsive addresses in the spring, but that has been pushed back several months because of the coronavirus. Door knockers are expected to fan out throughout the U.S. from August through October and people living in transitory housing like campgrounds, hotels, RV parks and marinas will be counted in September.
Information from the census is used to determine the number of congressional seats in each state and the corresponding Electoral College votes. It's also used to help divvy billions of dollars in federal funding.
Wisconsin lost a congressional seat after the 2000 census, dropping from nine to eight.
Hartford City Administrator Steve Volkert said citizens in his community in Washington County tend to be older and they know about the census, so they have no problem filling out their form.
"They have always done it for several decades," he said. "People expect it. A lot of them truly understand what it means, how it will affect you and your community and your tax dollars because so much federal funding is based on census information."
For more information: 2020census.gov.
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