Wednesday, April 1, marks Census Day which is the the date used to reference where a person lives for the once-a-decade count of U.S. residents. The 2020 census will help determine how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets, as well as the distribution of approximately $1.5 trillion in federal spending.
Despite much of the nation at a standstill due to repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak, there are no plans to slow progress of the 2020 Census online or via telephone, but they are monitoring the situation. Census field operations have been suspended until April 15. The Bureau continues to evaluate all 2020 Census field operations, and will communicate any further updates.
Michael Cook, Chief of the Public Information Office at the U.S. Census Bureau: “We are laser-focused on the statute’s December 31 deadline for apportionment counts and population counts. We will continue to assess all of our operations to see if there are any changes that need to be made.”
The Census Bureau is strongly encouraging the public to respond to the 2020 Census online using a desktop computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet. You can respond online or by phone in English or 12 other languages. There are also 59 non-English language guides and videos available, ensuring over 99% of U.S. households can respond online in their preferred language. It has never been easier to respond without having to meet a census taker. That is important, given the current health and safety guidance being provided by national, state and local health authorities.
The head count started in late January in rural, native villages in Alaska. The rest of the country was unable to start answering the questionnaire until the second week of March when the Census Bureau’s self-response website went live and people received notices in the mail that they could start answering the questions. That was only a week prior to governors and mayors issuing stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of COVID-19, greatly hindering spreading awareness about the Census.
As of a Monday release by the Census Bureau, more than 36% of households had already answered the questions with 40,300 temporary workers on the payroll as of mid-March.