The deadline for the 2020 census is fast approaching.
If you haven’t yet completed your census questionnaire, you have until Sept. 30 to get it done. You can take the census securely online at my2020census.gov. The online survey is available in more than a dozen languages
The population count, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau every 10 years, is used by the federal government to decide where and how to spend billions of federal funding dollars.
More than $675 Billion each year is distributed to states based on census data. The money is used for hospitals, schools, roads, health insurance, public assistance programs such as WIC and SNAP and disaster relief programs.
The decennial census count also determines how many representatives each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Local officials and organizations are making a final push to encourage residents to complete the census. As of Sept. 17, response rates on the East End are lagging behind the rest of Suffolk County, according to 2020census.gov.
Countywide, the response rate was 67.1% on Sept. 17 — higher than the state average of 62.8%, according to census data.
Riverhead had a 65.6% response rate, while Southold’s response rate was just 41.3% and Southampton’s 40.7%.
Several East End Latino and Indigenous groups, including Sepa Mujer, OLA and the Shinnecock Nation organized a rally Thursday at the county center in Riverside to draw attention to the census deadline and urge more people of color to participate in the count.
“It only takes 10 minutes to fill out the census,” Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said. “And it could be the most important 10 minutes you take. We need to help our schools, hospitals and local governments get the funding that we deserve from the federal government,” Schneiderman said.
“We need everyone to be counted and that means where you were living in April. So, those who came out to the East End to stay in their second homes during the start of the pandemic, you need to be counted here,” he said.
The fiscal impacts of the COVID crisis make an accurate count more important than ever, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said. Every resident, citizens and non-citizens alike — regardless of immigration status — should be counted to ensure local communities, schools and governments get their fair share of federal funding.
“The results will impact our communities for the next 10 years,” Assemblyman Fred Thiele said. “The census count will help determine the number of seats our state will have in the House of Representatives and it provides data to draw new district lines for federal, state and local offices. It also determines the distribution of federal funds to our state to support such programs and services such as Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, schools, hospitals and so much more,” Thiele said.
The census survey does not contain a citizenship question and responses to questions are kept strictly confidential, as required by federal law. The Census Bureau cannot release any identifiable information about you, your home, or your business, — even to law enforcement agencies. The law ensures that your private data is protected and that your answers cannot be used against you by any government agency or court.
The answers you provide are used only to produce statistics. You are kept anonymous: The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in any way that could identify you or anyone else in your home.
The Census Bureau will never ask you for: your Social Security number;
money or donations; anything on behalf of a political party; your bank or credit card account numbers.
If someone claiming to be from the Census Bureau contacts you via email or phone and asks you for one of these things, it’s a scam, and you should not cooperate, the Census Bureau says. See: Avoiding Fraud and Scams on the Census Bureau website.
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