Be counted: Fill out your census form
Why should you complete your 2020 Census form?
Because there’s something in it for you—and everyone who lives in New York state.
The results of the census will determine how more than $675 billion in federal funds will be distributed to states, counties and communities across the country. This funding is crucial for SUNY and our public teaching hospitals around New York.
Without an accurate accounting of its population, the state could miss out on a significant portion of these federal dollars.
The census results will also determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives; New York cannot afford to lose any of its representation in Congress, and a full accounting of our state’s population could increase that number. Also, the results are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts.
“Filling out a census form is quick and easy to do,” said UUP Vice President for Professionals Tom Tucker. “And it’s incredibly important because an accurate count will guarantee vital federal funding for SUNY and public higher education, and our hospitals.”
The 2020 Census counts every person living in the U.S. and five U.S. territories—Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The count includes noncitizens and children.
As of May 19, 54.4 percent of New Yorkers have filled out and submitted a census form, according to the census Response Rate webpage. That’s below the national response rate of 59.6 percent.
QUICK AND EASY
With many of us working from home, now is a great time to complete the 2020 census. It’s easy—and so important—to do. And it’s confidential: it is illegal to share census form data publicly or with another government agency besides the Census Bureau.
You can respond by phone, online or by mail. You only need to fill out the census once.
To fill out and submit a form online, go to https://2020census.gov/en.html and click the green RESPOND button on the site to begin.
To complete the census form by phone, call 844-330-2020; this number is for people who speak English. There are phone numbers for people who speak Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese and Japanese.
Click here for that information
To respond by mail, simply fill out the census form mailed to your house in March.
Once you submit your census form, please reach out to your colleagues, family, friends and neighbors and ask them to complete their census form.
You can also post photos and messages about the census on social media. UUP has a 2020 Census Social Media Toolkit with sample posts and graphics. Click to download the document.“Together, as a union, we can help grow New York’s response rate to the census,” Tucker said.
