KINGSTON – Assemblyman Kevin Cahill has announced that the U.S. Census Bureau has begun sending representatives to homes for door-to-door canvassing in light of the shortened census timeline.
Online responses are still being accepted and may in fact forestall a visit from a census worker. As recently as last month, some local communities had almost three of every four persons remain uncounted, according to Cahill. Census officials are aware that people may be hesitant to answer their door in the midst of a pandemic recovery. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that in-person interviews with census takers present a low risk of transmission for COVID-19 and the bureau has taken numerous precautions to make this process as safe as possible. Census takers are required to wear a mask when they visit a home and have been trained to practice social distancing, avoid entering homes, and conduct interviews outside when possible. If you encounter a census taker who doesn’t speak your language, said Cahill, you can request a return visit from a worker who does speak your language.
If no one is home, the census taker will leave a notice of their visit along with information about how to respond online or by phone or mail. To verify a census taker’s identity, check to see they have a valid ID badge with their photo, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and expiration date.
While the information gathered will help better identify our communities, the individual responses are completely confidential. According to the United States Constitution, all residents are obligated and entitled to be counted without regard to citizenship. Individual census information cannot be used for immigration or any purpose other than assuring an accurate count.
Residents can still fill out the Census online at my2020census.gov or by phone or mail. The distribution of federal, state, and local aid is determined in significant part by census data. The more people who respond, the more aid communities and schools receive, and the lower our local tax bills will be.
