ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota State Demographer is urging people to make sure they're counted before the 2020 census concludes on Thursday.
"The census is the foundation of our democracy and tells the story of who we are and where we are going as a nation. Federal funding for essential services and congressional representation is on the line, and it is crucial that we achieve a complete and accurate count," State Demographer Susan Brower said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Trump Administration, which argued that the once-per-decade population count needed to end immediately to ensure that the U.S. Census Bureau had enough time to analyze the data before a mandated year-end deadline, which includes turning in figures used to decide how many congressional seats each state gets.
"Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused operational challenges to this census that have put historically undercounted communities—including black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), rural, low-wealth communities, and college students—at even greater risk of being missed than they would be under more normal circumstances," Brower said. "I am calling upon Minnesota’s state and local government, business community, non-profit organizations, faith leaders, and Tribal nations to reach out to their constituents one last time to ask that they respond to the 2020 US Census before it concludes on Thursday, October 15."
According to Brower, there are several ways for people to complete the census before the deadline, if they have not done so already:
- Online: Internet self-response will be available at 2020census.gov until 11:59 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time on Oct. 15, or 4:59 a.m. on Oct. 16 for Central Daylight Time in Minnesota.
- Phone: Phone response is available through Oct. 15 by calling (844) 330-2020 or other numbers listed here.
- Paper: Census forms can be mailed back if postmarked by Oct. 15.
- Census takers: In-person census takers will continue their work through the end of the day on Oct. 15.
