State of Alabama Begins Final Push for 2020 Census Response with “Drop Everything, Get Counted Day” on Wednesday August 12
Wednesday, August 12, has been declared “Drop Everything, Get Counted Day” in Alabama and businesses throughout the state are encouraged to celebrate the occasion by setting aside part of the work day to allow employees to complete the 2020 Census questionnaire. The state agencies and organizations that are taking the lead in this campaign are the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), Alabama Counts!, the Business Council of Alabama, the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, and the Alabama Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
As of today, the Census self-response rate in Alabama is approximately 61%, which is well below the 72% self-response rate that the state achieved in 2010. With the national deadline for responding to the Census being shortened to September 30, Alabamians are running out of time to be counted. According to recent study, for every Alabama resident who does not get counted, the state loses nearly $1,600 in federal funding that would be allocated for education, health care, housing assistance, transportation projects, and community development initiatives. A less than complete count could also lead to us losing a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Also happening this week is the start of the Census Bureau’s massive campaign aimed at soliciting responses from those residents who have yet to complete the Census questionnaire. Thousands of enumerators will be going door-to-door in all communities across Alabama and the entire U.S, interviewing heads of households and compiling the information to ensure a complete and accurate count of the population. Due to public health concerns created by the COVID-19 pandemic, these Census Bureau field representatives will be wearing protective gear, using hand sanitizer, and adhering to social distancing guidelines.
If you have not responded to the Census but you do not want to risk social contact, you can avoid face- to-face interaction with Census staffers by going ahead and completing the Census questionnaire on your own. You can do this online on the Birmingham Counts! webpage or by phone by calling 844-330-2020.
So, if you have been putting it off, follow the example being set by Alabama’s business community and take an active part in “Drop Everything, Get Counted Day.” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell put it best when he said, in reference to completing the 2020 Census questionnaire: “It should take each person roughly six minutes, but these six minutes are vital to Alabama’s future.”
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