Abrams launches ‘Fair Count’ nonprofit ahead of 2020 census

Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia, is looking to organize Georgians ahead of the 2020 census.

The former Georgia state House minority leader launched a new group on Thursday that seeks to reach out to “hard-to-count populations” in the Peach State before counting begins in next year’s census.

{mosads}The goal of the organization, dubbed Fair Vote, is to ensure an accurate count of the state’s population, the group said in a press release.

That count will ultimately determine everything from allocation of federal resources to how many representatives Georgians will send to the U.S. House.

“Georgia’s population is rapidly changing and it is crucial that the upcoming count is accurate,” Rebecca DeHart, the group’s CEO, said in a statement.

“Fair Count has the ability to rapidly staff-up and organize in communities where the need is critical. And we can do it in a meaningful way, building pathways for civic participation in communities that are not often connected to larger efforts.”

Nearly 20 percent of Georgians live in “hard-to-count” areas — places where it is difficult to locate, contact or interview residents — according to data from the 2010 census.

In a statement, Fair Count said many of those who go uncounted include racial and ethnic minorities, low-income residents, non-English speakers and those experiencing homelessness.

“Georgia is a vast, diverse state and each of our communities will need to be engaged in the upcoming Census,” Georgia state Rep. Carolyn Hugley, the chair of Fair Count’s board of directors, said in a statement. “Georgians risk missing out on critical federal dollars, business opportunities and may suffer unfair or inaccurate redistricting if we don’t get this count done correctly.”

The initiative is Abrams’s latest following her near-miss in last year’s gubernatorial race in Georgia. In November, she launched Fair Fight, an advocacy group for voting rights issues and election reforms.

The rollout of Fair Vote also comes as Abrams weighs a possible presidential run or a potential challenge to Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) in 2020.

Abrams has also reportedly been considered by former Vice President Joe Biden’s team as a potential running mate, if he ultimately jumps into the race for the White House.

However, Biden’s spokesman Bill Russo denied last week that there was a “pre-cooked” plan to tap Abrams as Biden’s running mate early in the primary season.

Soon after, Lauren Groh-Wargo, the former campaign manager for Abrams’s gubernatorial bid, said there had been “no grand plan hatched” between Abrams and Biden and that all options for Abrams’s political future were still “on the table.”