Elected leaders from across Nassau County are urging — even pleading with — residents to fill out the U.S. census if they have not already done so, and time is running out. The census count will end Sept. 30.
The census was originally scheduled to wind down Oct. 31, but in August the U.S. Census Bureau suddenly reduced the time frame by a month. In August, however, four out of every 10 Americans had yet to file their census forms, according to National Public Radio. That has led to fears of severe undercounting, particularly in minority communities.
That is why elected leaders across the county have held news conferences of late, encouraging residents to file their forms to ensure that the states have the correct number of U.S. representatives and that local governments receive all the federal aid they are rightly entitled to — both are based on population — and to assure residents of color, particularly recent immigrants, that they have nothing to fear from the census. Many immigrants reportedly fear that filing might jeopardize their status, particularly after President Trump pushed for inclusion of a citizenship question on the census form, a requirement that the Supreme Court shot down in July 2019.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat from Baldwin, recently held a news conference in Roosevelt with U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice, a Democrat from Garden City. In August, Curran appeared at Glen Cove City Hall with U.S Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from Glen Cove. The census was the focus of both gatherings.
Local leaders are right to be concerned. The Village of Freeport’s census response rate was 54 percent as of early this month; Elmont and Roosevelt, 53 percent; and the Village of Hempstead, 49 percent.
What the Constitution says
The U.S. Constitution mandates that the country count its population once every 10 years. The results are used to adjust or redraw electoral districts, based on where populations have increased or decreased.
State legislatures or independent bipartisan commissions are responsible for redrawing congressional districts. The U.S. Census Bureau provides states with population counts for this purpose.
Everyone living the United States and its five territories is required by law to be counted in the census.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau