City leaders are at the forefront of promoting and implementing local democracy by ensuring that everyone who lives in their municipality are counted in the census and all eligible voters are able to participate in elections.
National League of Cities surveyed over 100 cities of varying sizes to understand their experiences with the 2020 Census count and the 2020 elections cycle. The primary conclusion from our findings: cities must make permanent investment in the hard and soft infrastructure of local democracy to be well-positioned to address future challenges, reduce barriers to access, and to ensure inclusive representation, particularly among historically undercounted and underrepresented groups.