UNDATED (WKZO AM/FM) — Reminders have been all over social media, on the radio, and even sent by mail, asking everyone to fill out the 2020 Census.
“Census Day” is the day where residents tell the Census Bureau where they live as of that day, April 1st 2020.
Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema says the Census is important for a number of reasons, “The Census impacts many impacts of our every day lives including road and infrastructure funding, school funding and programs, and other supportive services.”
It also determines how many representatives each state gets in Congress and helps to direct billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities.
Ritsema adds that short questionnaire can easily be done online in about 10 minutes.
“Everyone should have received their letter from the Census with a personal code, and if you haven’t received the letter or misplaced it, you can still go to my2020census.gov and still fill out the survey without the code,” Ritsema said at Tuesday’s Kalamazoo City Commission meeting.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer is encouraging all Michiganders to fill it out to reach their goal of 82% participation statewide.
On her Twitter page the governor released a video of her filling out the Census. “All the federal dollars we’re hoping to get so that we can combat COVID-19 are determined based on our population,” Governor Whitmer said.
The Census could be tricky to track this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, college students home from school earlier than expected, and other unexpected issues. The population is counted every 10 years.
The 2020 Census questionnaire is also safe, secure, and confidential, so nobody should hesitate when answering.
To fill out the Census go to my2020census.gov.
