Yesterday the Census Bureau announced plans to end all counting efforts for the 2020 Census on Sept. 20 — a MONTH sooner than planned. This decision includes critical door-knocking efforts and collecting responses online, over the phone, and by mail.
This news is a bombshell. The constitutionally mandated count of every person living in the US determines the size of each state's delegation in the House of Representatives and its share of critical federal funding for the next decade.
Click here to demand Republicans support an extension in the Heroes Act to allow the COUNT to go on.
With counting already delayed by the pandemic, an estimated 4 out of 10 households nationwide have yet to be counted. The bureau now has less than two months to try to reach members of historically undercounted groups who are less likely to complete census forms on their own -- this has included people of color, immigrants, renters, rural residents, and others.
The cost of an undercount would be enormous. Billions of federal dollars are at stake in Maryland alone.
For every Marylander not counted, we will lose $18,000 per person over ten years. That is federal money for schools, transportation, housing, and healthcare — vital funding for essential services.
Make no mistake — this is also a high stakes political moment. Shortening the census count impacts how House seats are reapportioned, and voting districts are redrawn. Shortening the timeline could disproportionately hurt Democratic districts with larger numbers of historically undercounted groups.
Demand Republicans support legislation to extend the 2020 Census deadline and get a fair count.
Thanks,
Chris
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