it's been an up and down sort of process this year. Sept. 30 was the deadline for filling the census, then it was changed to Oct. 31. Now the courts have deemed Oct. 15 the last day to fill out forms online or in paper. If paper they must be postmarked Oct. 15, 2020.

The goal of the census is to count every person living in the United States, once, only once and in the right place. Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution mandates that this population and housing count occur every 10 years. Census data guide how more than $675 billion of federal funding is distributed to states and communities each year.

More instructions below: 

• Internet self-response will be available through October 15 until 11:59 pm Hawaii Standard Time (4:00 am Mountain Time on October 16).

•Phone response will be available during regularly scheduled hours through October 15.

•Paper responses must be postmarked by October 15.

•Nonresponse Followup census takers will continue resolving nonresponding addresses through the end of the day on October 15.

Ask your friends, family, and neighbors to go to my2020census.gov. They can also call (844) 330-2020 to complete the census.

The reason given for the Oct. 15, 2020 date to to make sure that at least the data gets to the federal government by the end of year to meet a year-end deadline to submit the figures used for deciding states’ congressional seats, a process known as apportionment.