Joanne Favors
JoAnne Favors, a former state representative and Hamilton County Commissioner, knows how important the national census is. How (and how many) people fill out this vital form affects every facet of a person’s life.
“Data obtained from the census determines the conditions of our schools, funding for our roads, and how much is spent on infrastructure,” said Ms. Favors, “It’s very important. It’s to determine how much federal funding Hamilton County receives, and affects how business and socio-economic decisions are made.”
Every 10 years, the United States Government attempts to count every person living within the country. Although the word “attempts” could be considered a strong word. Ms. Favors told the JFK Club about how census workers in previous years would ignore areas of Hamilton County. As a commissioner in 2000, Ms. Favors was insistent on making sure every resident was counted, regardless of where they lived.
“We see what has happened over the last several years. The 2000 census, I was on the County Commission, and I was attending meetings on the national level. So I insisted on being in charge of the redistricting, especially in the inner city,” said the former commissioner, “What we found out was that in certain under-served areas like East Lake, nobody was going to those areas and getting the info on those people. So we were able to oversee that in an unofficial capacity.”
The census truly begins in January, and for the following few months, Hamilton County residents will have an opportunity to fill out the census. According to the speaker, the “event” will be promoted like few others.
“Letters will go out to everybody, from March 11 to 27,” said Ms. Favors, “And every county has a complete count committee. From January to march, you’re going to see a media blitz like you’ve never seen before. Corporations have really gotten involved, and we all have a role to play in this.”
Aside from having monetary implications, the results of the census can have an impact on the political makeup of the state. It can affect apportionment, which is the process of determining however of the many 385 congressional seats each state is entitled to. As of this moment, Tennessee has nine. While the state will most-likely keep the same number of congressional seats, how those seats are distributed within the state may change. This is what happened because of the last census.
“When this happened in 2010, we only had 23 Democrats in the house. And the rest of them were Republicans,” said Ms. Favors. "And they decided on redistricting. We had two districts that were represented by Democrats. So what they did was merge those two districts, and that forced us to run against each other. And they can continue to do that.”
The threat of redistricting also highlights the importance of having active voters within the Democratic Party in Hamilton County and Tennessee. Ms. Favors said, “Why is your vote crucial in Nov 3 2020? Well, control of the Congress and the state legislature is at stake. The governor will decide on budget and that also will play a role in redistricting. And we already see what our governor is doing for redistricting. The party that controls the House will control redistricting.”