COLUMBIA, S.C. – Governor Henry McMaster today (Thursday) issued Executive Order 2019-22, which establishes the South Carolina 2020 Complete Count Committee – a committee created to work with the United States Census Bureau and other stakeholders in order to raise awareness of the importance of the 2020 Census and to encourage all South Carolinians to participate.
You can watch a video of the event from the governor's YouTube page below.
Governor McMaster designated Lieutenant Governor Pamela S. Evette as chair of the Committee, which is currently made up of 54 state agencies, constitutional officers, and private organizations that are representative of South Carolina’s population.
“We’re here today because we want to organize early, and we have a great team, as you can see by those who have agreed to participate so far,” said Gov. Henry McMaster. “It’s critically important that we count each and every resident of South Carolina. We know our state is growing, we’re on the way up, and we want to be sure our representation and our strength is felt.”
“We want to make sure we include everybody,” said Lt. Gov. Pamela S. Evette. “The census doesn’t officially begin until April of next year, but we have to start now. We don’t want to wait until the last minute, so we need all hands on deck.”
The Committee’s objective is to work with the United States Census Bureau and any other in-state Complete Count Committees to encourage statewide census participation. The Committee will meet at least quarterly and will convene upon the call of the chair or the governor.
“I’d like to extend a special thank you to Governor McMaster for heeding our call and forming the South Carolina Complete Count Committee,” said Mary Peeler, S.C. Partnership Coordinator with the U.S. Census Bureau. “This committee will help to spread the word about the importance of the census to every South Carolinian and encourage every household to participate.”
The following public and private organizations and offices will be represented on the Committee. This list is not final and additions will be made in the future:
State Government Agencies
Department of AdministrationDepartment on AgingDepartment of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse ServicesDepartment of CommerceDepartment of CorrectionsDepartment of Employment and WorkforceDepartment of Health and Human ServicesDepartment of InsuranceDepartment of Juvenile JusticeDepartment of Labor, Licensing and RegulationDepartment of Motor VehiclesDepartment of Parks, Recreation and TourismDepartment of Probation, Parole and Pardon ServicesDepartment of Public SafetyDepartment of RevenueDepartment of Social ServicesDepartment of Veteran’s AffairsSouth Carolina Military Department, Adjutant GeneralState Law Enforcement DivisionMunicipal Association of South CarolinaS.C. Association of Regional CouncilsS.C. Association of CountiesS.C. Military Base TaskforceS.C. First StepsS.C. Minority Affairs Commission
Constitutional Officers:
Lieutenant Governor Pamela S. Evette (Chair)S.C. Superintendent of EducationS.C. TreasurerS.C. Attorney GeneralS.C. Commissioner of AgricultureS.C. Secretary of State
Non-Governmental Organizations
S.C. Association of School AdministratorsSouth Carolina School Boards AssociationPalmetto State Teachers AssociationS.C. Association of School Business OfficialsS.C. Independent Colleges and UniversitiesUniversity of South CarolinaSouth Carolina Broadcasters AssociationUnited Way AssociationTogether SCSouth Carolina Grant Makers NetworkNAACPPASOSFood Bank AssociationArea Agencies on AgingUrban LeagueRepublican Party of South CarolinaDemocratic Party of South CarolinaS.C. Progressive NetworkLeague of Women VotersAppleseed Legal Justice CenterBlueCross BlueShieldNFIBDominion EnergyPalmetto Family
*All members of the state’s Congressional Delegation have been invited to participate