Census Bureau Suspends Door-to-Door Canvassing During COVID-19 Crisis

The U.S. Census is underway, but the coronavirus pandemic is putting a hold on their door-to-door campaign.

The Census started, officially, on Wednesday, April 1.

However, people who were hired to canvass neighborhoods received an email this week telling them their start dates have been pushed back to at least May.

In a press release issued this week, the Census Bureau said based on continuing assessments, guidance from federal, state and local health authorities, the U.S. Census Bureau is suspending 2020 Census field operations until more updates are available.

The release said the Census Bureau is taking this step to help protect the health and safety of the American public, Census Bureau employees, and everyone who will go through the hiring process for temporary census taker positions.

However, you can still go online at 2020census.gov to fill out the Census form, or call toll-free 844-330-2020.

Additionally, a hard copy census form is being mailed to everyone to fill out and return in the mail.

So far, the U.S. is reporting a low response rate in Franklin and Hart Counties.

Franklin County has had a 33.4% response to the Census, and Hart County’s response is at 34.4%.

For the State of Georgia overall, as of March 31st, the response rate is at 36.4%

U.S. Census Representative for our area, Jesse Clayton noted last fall that responding to Census determines how much federal and state funding a county will receive in the future.

“For every person in your county that does not return their census forms, you lose approximately $24,000 over a ten year period,” Clayton explained. “The roads, your school cafeteria funding, your senior citizen center, it’s all so important. So, please return your census forms. I will be talking with the City at a later date to talk with them about how we can get everyone involved in participating in the 2020 Census.”

Again to fill out the Census form, you can go online to 2020census.gov, call toll-free 844330-2020 or fill out the survey form that comes in your mail and return it.