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Census

Half of Alabama Households Have Responded to 2020 Census

Alabama is running slightly below the national average in response to the 2020 census, state officials said Friday. Figures through Thursday, April 23, show 50.8% of the Alabama households that were sent questionnaires by the Census Bureau have responded, compared to 52.4 percent nationwide. Gov. Kay Ivey and other state officials have urged Alabama residents to participate in the census, which is taken every 10 years, because population figures are used to determine the number of members each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the distribution of federal funds to the states. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

$13 Billion and a U.S. House Seat Ride on Participation in This Year’s Census

Gov. Kay Ivey and state census officials say participation by Alabamians in this year’s census “will make or break” the state. Poor census participation by state residents could result in the state losing a member of the U.S. House and about $13 billion in federal health care and education funds. Anyone living in Alabama on Friday is being asked to complete the census. For the first time, the census can be completed online, as well as by phone or mail. Letters encouraging residents to complete the census are now being mailed to Alabamians. Kenneth Boswell, director of the Alabama Department of Community Affairs, is spearheading the census in Alabama. Boswell and Ivey pointed out that federal funding disbursements are tied to census data. “It is the most important census the state has ever seen,” Boswell said. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald