After battling for months in court, the once-in-a-decade U.S. Census is set to end Friday morning after a ruling from the Supreme Court.
It’s the fifth time in two months that the Census Bureau was given a new end date to tally everyone living in the U.S.
In response to the pandemic, federal officials in April extended the deadline for counting to Oct. 31. But then in August, they abruptly announced that counting operations would instead end Sept. 30.
Many advocates and community leaders have said the court’s ruling that the Trump administration can end the count early will have a detrimental impact on minorities and hard-to-reach communities.
Here’s what you need to know:
Why did the deadline shift for the census?
Data collection for the census was slated to end in mid-August but when the coronavirus pandemic began to ravage the country, the deadline was extended by the Census Bureau to Oct. 31.
But then, the bureau walked back and shortened the deadline by a month, with a new cutoff of Sept. 30.
President Donald Trump’s administration asked that the Supreme Court suspend a lower court’s order extending the 2020 census, arguing to end the head count immediately to give the bureau time to meet a year-end deadline. Congress requires the bureau to turn in apportionment numbers by Dec. 31.
A coalition of local governments and civil rights groups filed a lawsuit that sparked Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision. The lawsuit argued that minorities and others in hard-to-count communities would be missed if the census ended early. They said the schedule was cut short to accommodate a July order from Trump that would exclude undocumented immigrants from being counted in the numbers used for apportionment.
Why is this shift a big deal?
Advocates and community leaders have said the Supreme Court’s ruling increases the Trump administration’s chances of keeping control of the process that decides how many congressional seats each state gets — and by extension how much voting power each state has.
This year’s census is the first to be done primarily online but it’s not easy for everyone to complete it that way. Many local leaders say the decision to stop the census count early will impact those without access to internet, minorities and hard-to-reach communities.
So, when does the census have to be completed now?
People can fill out the census form online until 6 a.m. Eastern time on Friday.
However, paper responses must be postmarked by Thursday. The last day to complete the census by phone is also Thursday because that is when Census Bureau workers will stop reaching out to households.
How do I fill out the census?
You can fill it out online using a computer, smartphone or another device.
Officials are urging people to respond to the census online using a computer, smartphone or other device. People can also respond by phone by calling 844-330-2020 or by mailing the questionnaire to:
U.S. Census Bureau
National Processing Center
1201 E 10th Street
Jeffersonville, IN 47132
Why is it important to fill out the census?
Census data is used to determine how billions of dollars in federal funding is allocated to states.
It helps establish congressional redistricting, including how many seats each state gets in the House of Representatives, and federal funding allocations for everything from school lunches to road construction to community mental health services. Maryland gets roughly $1,825 in federal aid each year for each person who is counted — or $18,250 per person over the next decade.
How many people have responded so far?
Maryland ranks among the top 10 states where residents have responded to the U.S. Census. The national rate of response is 66.8%, according to Census Bureau data, while Maryland’s response rate is 71%.
But Baltimore is lagging behind. About 56% of city residents have self-responded, compared to about 59% in 2010.
Baltimore Sun reporter Alison Knezevich and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
