Officials urge residents to take part in the 2020 census

As many residents are spending more time at home due to orders of self-isolation, census workers remind that the questionnaire can be done online.

News 12 Staff

Apr 2, 2020, 1:47 AM

Updated 1,654 days ago

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Officials are urging residents to take part in this year's U.S. census.
As many residents are spending more time at home due to orders of self-isolation, census workers remind that the questionnaire can be done online.
"For the first time ever, every household across the nation if they choose, they can go online and fill out their 2020 census," says Director of the U.S. Census Bureau Jeff Behler.
Behler says the survey can have some major impacts in the future of communities.
"It really boils down to two things, representation and funding," he says. "There are hundreds of billions of dollars that get disseminated every year based upon formulas that use census data."
The census can also determine how the state and local districts will be represented politically and financially.
Behler is calling residents reach out to their community to remind them to fill out the census as well.

"Call your neighbors, call your relatives, call your coworkers, people you worship with and ask them if they have filled out the census and if you haven't tell them how easy it is," he says.

Over 500,000 census takers nationwide were scheduled take census interviews door-to-door from late May through August, but all field work is currently suspended due to the corona virus outbreak. Officials say they hope to be back at some point before the deadline.
The census can be done online, over the phone and through mail.