Answer census while there is still time
In the midst of the frantic news cycle of 2020, the urgent matter of successfully completing the U.S. census isn’t capturing enough people’s attention.
Census forms were delivered to American homes months ago, yet as of Monday more than a third of U.S. households had yet to respond.
The 63% who did respond deserve their nation’s thanks. As for the rest, there’s still time to correct the situation, but not much.
The U.S. Census Bureau just announced that it is cutting its schedule for data collection by a month, concluding its count at the end of September instead of the end of October. That’s a troubling decision. The COVID-19 pandemic slowed the process of getting census workers in the field to seek information from people who did not fill out the form on their own. If anything, there should be more time to complete the count, not less.
While we hope that the bureau rethinks its decision, it’s important to remember that people have the power to prevent an undercount regardless of decisions made in Washington.
It’s very simple. If you haven’t filled out the census form yet, do it now. The easiest way is to go to my2020census.gov and fill out the form there. You can also respond by phone at 844-330-2020. Or if you still have the paper form, you can fill it out and return it by mail. Please note that even if you misplaced the form and the ID code it contains, it’s still possible to take the census. Just follow the instructions.
The process just takes a few minutes, but taking part in it has an immense impact because the census is so important.
The count, which takes place just once every 10 years, determines how $1.5 trillion in federal spending is distributed and how many congressional districts each state gets. A robust response in Pennsylvania matters to everyone in the state.
The issue of congressional districts has become a hot one in recent years. Battles over the shape and political makeup of congressional districts raged in Harrisburg over maps drawn by Republicans in 2011. It all culminated in a 2018 state Supreme Court decision that found the maps unconstitutional and had them redrawn.
Those who are concerned about this issue should care deeply about the census, no matter which side of the political aisle they occupy. The districts soon will be redrawn yet again. The numbers and data used in that process will come from census results.
As for the financial impact, Gov. Tom Wolf has said the state receives $26.8 billion annually for federally funded programs based on the census numbers. That adds up to about $2,000 per state resident per year. Millions here rely on federally funded programs that help pay for home heating in winter, assistance with food expenses and help with health care for those who can’t afford it on their own. Distribution of funds for those programs is determined by census data.
Children and those who live in rural areas are at particular risk of being undercounted. Officials indicate the rural population was undercounted in the last two censuses. Under the current circumstances, there’s a serious threat of that happening again unless people act.
The census questions are simple and mostly relate to how many people live in each household and information on their age, sex, ethnic background and race for statistical purposes. Having this information helps guide government decision-making on a wide variety of issues and programs.
The Census Bureau is prohibited by law from releasing any identifiable information about respondents, even to law enforcement agencies. The answers are used only to produce statistics.
Keep in mind that the census is mandated by the Constitution, and participation by every American household is required by law.
So please don’t wait any longer. If you haven’t done it already, take a few minutes to complete this simple task and help your community and country.