The Coronavirus has shut down our country, and we must all play our part in keeping everyone safe--the Federal Government included. We demand an appropriate national response: extend necessary government functions until it is SAFE to resume. More specifically, extend the 2020 Census. 

The decennial U.S. Census provides an accurate count of everyone in the nation. Without an accurate count, adequate resource distribution, fair elective representation, and critical census data are at stake. Example? Right now, 2010 Census data is being used to determine vulnerable populations and emergency relief in the face of the Coronavirus. Just like how 2010 Census data is currently shaping our lives, 2020 Census data will guide emergency response and many other essential functions for the next 10 years. For EACH person who fails to participate in the census, we lose $15,700 over ten years* that could be used for our roads, schools, clinics, and emergency relief.

COVID-19 has changed everything, including how we will conduct the census. Now with a nation in quarantine, it's both impossible and irresponsible to send out enumerators and volunteers to reach hard-to-count populations. Going door-to-door to count especially vulnerable populations--including the elderly who may struggle with the online census form--puts everyone at risk in a time when social distancing could drastically reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Extending the U.S. Census deadline until after the brunt of the Coronavirus is over will not only prioritize the safety of both enumerators and volunteers AND the general population. This extension will help ensure that the census data collected is accurate by allowing enumerators to reach hard-to-count populations when it is safe for them to do so. Let's get everyone counted!

tldr: Extending the 2020 Census until after COVID-19 is over will ensure that census field operations are not a public safety risk and that the count is accurate.

*ocahouston.org/census