Thursday is the final day to be counted in the 2020 census, and Alaskans still have the opportunity to be counted through the day.
The census is a survey of America’s population taken once every 10 years. It collects data about age, race, household size and more. The population totals impact how federal funding is distributed and how many seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Numerous Alaska officials took to social media Wednesday and Thursday to encourage participation. The data impacts funding for schools, health care, public safety and more.
The deadline to complete the 2020 Census is tomorrow, October 15th. It’s crucial Alaskans respond for our state to get proper funding for public safety, infrastructure & education.
— Governor Mike Dunleavy (@GovDunleavy) October 14, 2020
Go to https://t.co/x7euMhTyrv or call 1-844-330-2020 to respond now.#akgov #2020Census
Anyone who has not already participated in the census can visit the census website or call 844-330-2020 on Thursday. The survey collects data about age, race, household size and more. It’s available in multiple languages.
The count had initially been extended this year through the end of October because of pandemic-related delays. A Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to end counting early.
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The national census got started January in Toksook Bay. Census counts begin early in Alaska so field operation teams can go door-to-door in remote villages before the spring thaw, when many people head out to hunt and fish. The count began in the rest of the country and in Alaska’s larger cities in mid-March.
Field operations were called off throughout the Lower 48 in March as COVID-19 cases surged. Teams that were already in Alaska villages finished counting those communities before pausing operations. The in-person count was expected to resume in May. Officials encouraged online responses to limit the number of in-person data collections.
By mid-October, the Census Bureau was indicating that 99.9% of Alaska’s population had been counted. The bureau reported that 99% of households in the U.S. had been counted.
Alaska, however, was one of the states with the lowest self-response rates. About 54.6% of Alaska residents self-reported their data to the census. The national average was 66.8%.