Last Chance to be Counted in 2020 Census!

Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 10 September 2020 10 September 2020

Census Count Ends September 30; Nearly Half of All New Mexicans Remain Uncounted

Silver City -- The 2020 U.S. Census process concludes September 30, a full month ahead of the U.S. Census Bureau's original time line, yet nearly half of New Mexicans still haven't been counted. As of this week, 56.4% of New Mexico households had been counted, compared to 65.5% nationwide.

Members of the Grant County "Complete Count" Committee urge all residents who have yet to complete the brief, confidential census questionnaire to do so either online at www.my2020census.gov, or by calling toll-free, (844) 330-2020. Census workers are currently calling and visiting households that have yet to respond.

"It's not too late to be counted, and it's critically important that every household - every person - participates," urged Complete Count Committee Co-Chairman Mischa Larisch. "For the next decade the Census count determines how much federal funding comes to Grant County for vital human services, and determines our political representation. We can't afford to be undercounted."

The U.S. Constitution requires that every individual and housing unit be counted every 10 years, and everyone is required by law to respond. The count is used to determine how some $675 billion in federal funding is allocated to vital human services, such as housing, hospitals and health care, food assistance, fire service, road improvements and many other programs. Census data also determine how many Congressional representatives each state gets, as well as how Congressional and state legislative districts are drawn.

Historically, New Mexico's population has been undercounted in the census process, in part due to its vast, remote rural areas. In 2010, New Mexico's response rate was the second lowest in the country, and some two percent of the population went missing in the 2000 census. Ultimately that means that New Mexico and local governments throughout the state received less money than they could have across a variety of federally funded programs.

On the ground field operations for collecting responses was derailed earlier in the year by COVID-19, then resumed by the U.S. Census Bureau, which then announced that the count would end September 30, a full month ahead of the COVID-adjusted schedule. The original date for completing the 2020 Census count was July 31.

All census information collected is strictly confidential and protected by law. The Census Bureau will never share personal information with any other government agencies, law enforcement, or with Immigration Enforcement Services (ICE). Census workers take an oath to protect an individual's personal information for life.

For more information about where to find assistance to complete the census in Grant County, please visit GrantCountyCensus.com. For general information about the U.S. Census Bureau and the 2020 Census, please visit www.my2020census.gov.

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