PUTNEY — The U.S. Census is the bedrock of our democracy. The mission of the Census, held every 10 years, is to count all people living in the United States once, only once, and in the right place.
We determine Congressional representation, redistricting, and critical funding allotments for every state in the country through our Census numbers. We are talking about the annual allocation of $1.5 trillion in federal funding to states and localities. That's a lot of help our communities need and deserve, especially now.
To date, the national self-response is the lowest in history. Only 88.2 percent of Vermont households have responded as of Sept. 6. We need to do better!
The Census operation has been really hard hit by COVID-19. Earlier this year, the pandemic compelled the U.S. Census Bureau to suspend field activities, including the critical phase in which Census-takers collect information in person from more than 30 percent of households that have not responded.
Time is getting short to make your presence counted: The deadline is Sept. 30.
Respond today and fill out a Census form. Contact the Census Bureau at my2020census.gov or at 1-844-330-2020. You can find non-English phone numbers on the website.
You can also mail your completed Census form to U.S. Census Bureau, National Processing Center, 1202 E. 10th St., Jeffersonville, IN 47132.