The 2020 U.S. Census is facing an extraordinary challenge: attempting to count every single resident and legal immigrant in the United States amid a pandemic that has much of the country on lockdown. And the response rate has fallen behind the national average in Alabama.
Even under typical circumstances, only around two-thirds of residents bother responding and with census workers canceling face-to-face contact that they usually rely on for census numbers, the numbers are even lower. Instead, workers have had to increase the number phone calls, letters they’ve set in the mail, and online contacts they’re making in hopes of reaching every American.
On Saturday, the federal government released it’s latest round of 2020 Census Self Response Rates, and it shows 53.2 percent of households have responded to the survey so far. But in Alabama, only 51.5 percent have given their information, falling behind the national average.
Multiple reminders have already been sent in large white envelopes to every household that say “Your Response is Required By Law.” Responding takes less than 10 minutes and you are able to do it from the safety of your own home.
A lot at stake
Alabama has a lot at stake in the 2020 U.S. Census — from a seat in the U.S. House of Representative to a vote in the Electoral College, as well as federal funds — depending on participation levels and what the results indicate.
A 2018 study by George Washington University indicated the U.S. government returned more than $1,567 to the state in 2015 for every Alabamian counted in the census. More than 100 federal programs use data collected during census counts as part of their formulas to distribute billions of dollars in federal funding to the states. Those programs include Medicaid, Medicare Part B, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Highway Planning and Construction, and Title 1 Grants to Local Education Agencies. Census-derived data also is used to allocate seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and in legislative redistricting.
