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SCOOP: @NPR has learned that after Oct. 7, the Census Bureau will stop accepting paper #2020Census forms postmarked by Sept. 30. Some census advocates worry any USPS mail delays over next few weeks could harm the accuracy of census data about rural areas. https://www.npr.org/2020/08/20/902774632/mail-delays-could-hurt-the-census-too
2. @NPR has also confirmed that from Aug. 22 - Sept. 15, an extra paper #2020Census form is set to arrive at some households that haven't been counted yet in census tracts that had a self‑response rate of 65% or lower in late July. Bureau says envelope will likely look like this:
3. But the Census Bureau tells me unresponsive households that were in the "Internet Choice" cohort (green areas of the map below) that should have received 2 paper #2020Census forms by now are not expected to get another form soon in the mail: https://twitter.com/hansilowang/status/1196534278949081089?s=20
4. Although the vast majority of U.S. households (80%) that have filled out a #2020Census form on their own did so online, paper forms have been the second-most popular way for those households — about 1 in 5 — to get counted, especially in rural areas (see Update Leave trends).
5. While much of the country's attention has been on the potential impact of USPS problems on the election, some #2020Census watchers are worried delivery delays could jeopardize the accuracy of census data collected from sparsely populated parts of the U.S.
6. That, in turn, could have lasting consequences on share of federal funding -- an estimated $1.5 trillion/year in tax dollars for Medicare, Medicaid, other services -- & political representation tied to census numbers that residents in rural areas receive for the next 10 years.
7. "These paper forms that get sent to rural communities are really the lifeline to those rural communities participating in the census," @RebeccaDeHart, CEO of @faircount, tells me.
In case you've never heard of Fair Count's work on the #2020Census: https://www.npr.org/2019/12/03/783002964/installing-free-wi-fi-to-help-count-rural-communities-of-color-in-2020-census
In case you've never heard of Fair Count's work on the #2020Census: https://www.npr.org/2019/12/03/783002964/installing-free-wi-fi-to-help-count-rural-communities-of-color-in-2020-census
8. Johnnie Mae Adams, 73, tells me she has been waiting for months to receive a paper #2020Census form in Millen, Ga., a small town about an hour south of Augusta in eastern Georgia where less than a third of households have self-responded to the census.
9. Some #2020Census advocates, including @ArturoNALEO, have been urging the Census Bureau to mail out another paper form.
But Arturo Vargas, who is CEO of @NALEO, says the new Sept. 30 end date for all counting efforts "almost defeats the purpose" of another mailing.
But Arturo Vargas, who is CEO of @NALEO, says the new Sept. 30 end date for all counting efforts "almost defeats the purpose" of another mailing.
10. Terri Ann Lowenthal, a former Hill staff director who now consults on census issues, says mailed forms "could arrive too late to be processed, leaving the Bureau to rely on household data collected or produced from a less direct and, therefore, less accurate source."
11. Meanwhile, if you haven't already, the Census Bureau says your household has 41 days left to respond to the #2020Census at:
- http://My2020Census.gov
- 1-844-330-2020
- http://My2020Census.gov
- 1-844-330-2020
