Deadline to participate has been moved to Sept. 30
As your local newspaper, we take our responsibility to remind you about important things very seriously. This makes us almost as annoying as the stupid reminder alarm on the stupid smartphone that goes off out of nowhere and scares the crap out of you. Of course, we hope we’re a little less heart-palpitation-inducing and just as, if not more, useful.
So here’s your reminder: If you haven’t responded to the census yet, please do so.
Originally, participants and census-takers had an extension to Oct. 31 to turn in completed forms. Now, however, part of that extension has been revoked and all responses must be received by Sept. 30.
We understand that with everything else going on (we’re not even going to bother listing “everything else”), filling out your census doesn’t seem like a top priority. But, the census lays the groundwork for the next 10 years. Census data determines each state’s representation in the House of Representatives and the distribution of federal money. So what do we have to lose by not completing the census?
Glad you asked. In West Virginia, a low census count this year could cost us a representative. Right now, we have three seats in the U.S. House. The Brennan Center for Justice anticipates West Virginia could lose a seat after the 2020 census. In 2010, we garnered three seats based on a 65% census participation rate. As of last week, West Virginia’s self-response is less than 55%. We need much higher participation in order to keep those seats.
In addition to a voice in government, the census also decides how much federal money West Virginia can get. This includes federal dollars for roads and infrastructure as well as Medicaid. According to Tracy Gordon at the Tax Policy Center, “Here’s why the census matters for Medicaid: If you undercount a state’s population, you overstate how much income each resident has, all else being equal. This makes a state look economically better off than it is, and its reimbursements for Medicaid [and other federal medical assistance] would go down.”
Go to my2020census.gov to complete the questionnaire online. If internet access is a concern, you can also complete the census by mail or by phone. To respond by mail, complete the form that was sent to you and mail it back to U.S. Census Bureau, National Processing Center, 1201 E 10th St., Jeffersonville, IN 47132. To respond by phone, call 844-330-2020.
Please, please fill out the census. As of the first week in August, only 63% of households in the nation had responded. Only slightly more than half of West Virginians had been counted. There’s a national fight between the Trump administration and states to render immigrants invisible by excluding them from apportionment while West Virginians are rendering ourselves invisible by not completing the census. We are here. Don’t let us be erased from the national narrative. Participate in the census.
