If you did not complete the census form online by Census Day on April 1, no problem—complete it now. In the coming weeks, census outreach activity will ramp up in order to receive an accurate count in each state. For example, beginning April 16, census takers will work with administrators at colleges, senior centers, prisons, and other large group facilities to make sure everyone is counted. Two weeks later, starting April 29, the Census Bureau will spend three days interviewing those experiencing homelessness across the United States.
However, some census outreach has been delayed due to COVID-19. Mobile questionnaire assistance was moved from March 30 to April 13, and early nonresponse follow-up was postponed from April 9 to April 23. Door-to-door census takers will eventually start visiting homes on May 27 if conditions allow.
As of now, the completion date for the census is still July 31, but the date will be adjusted if necessary, as the situation with COVID-19 evolves to achieve an accurate population count.
If you have yet to take the census, you can do so one of three ways—online, by phone, or by mail. To complete the census online, visit www.2020census.gov. English and Spanish telephone assistance are available seven days a week from 7:00am-2:00am Eastern time. English callers can dial 844-300-2020 and Spanish 844-468-2020. There are also phone lines for 12 other languages to complete the census, such as Chinese, Russian, Japanese, French, and Haitian Creole. The phone number for each language can be found at www.2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-phone. To respond to the census by mail, simply send back the paper questionnaire sent to your address. Households who did not respond to the census before April 8 should be expecting a questionnaire in the mail any day.
As of April 8, 46.2% of those living in the US have already been counted in the 2020 census. If you haven’t done so yet, please complete the census today to ensure our state receives the proper amount of funding deserved.