Deadline looms for 2020 census
Bureau chief says 92% of Oklahomans have been counted so far
With the Sept. 30 deadline to complete the U.S. Census rapidly approaching, more than 92% of Oklahomans have been counted.
The U.S. Census Bureau is also giving Oklahoma additional staffing to help count residents before the end of the month, a federal official said Friday. States are working on a shortened timeline after the Trump administration decided to end data collection a month early.
Oklahoma will get 130 additional enumerators, or Census employees who go doorto-door, on top of the 2,100 enumerators currently in the field, U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham said.
Dillingham visited Oklahoma on Friday to get briefed on the state' s Census efforts and remind residents it's not too late to complete the brief
confidential questionnaire. He has visited other states recently and made a stop in Arizona earlier in the week.
“We want to help people get across that finish line, and the finish line is in sight,” he said. “People are motivated, and great work is going on here in Oklahoma.”
Conducted every decade, the Census is used to determine billions of dollars in federal funding that comes to Oklahoma every year for education, health care, transportation and more.
Oklahoma has a self-response Census rate of roughly 60%, which ranks about 40 thin the nation, said Oklahoma Department of Commerce Director Brent Kisling.
Idaho, West Virginia and Hawaii are leading the nationwide count, having enumerated 99% of their populations.
“We want every state to get 99%-plus,” Dillingham said.
State Senate Minority Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, said she's concerned the shortened timeline could leave many Oklahomans uncounted. That, in turn, could reduce federal funding coming to the state, she said.
For every person who is not counted as part of the Census, Oklahoma is estimated to lose roughly $1,700 annually for the next decade.
“Nationwide, there's just been so many hurdles,” Floyd said pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters that have rocked parts of the country. “We need more time.”
To complete the Census, visit 2020census.gov or call 844-330-2020.