This year, for the first time, the Census form is online. It has only a handful of questions and takes most households only a few minutes to fill out.
But some officials are concerned that the outbreak of the coronavirus will subdue the response rate to the decennial count.
The data collected through the Census has massive implications for the nation’s politics, economy and society. And for Vermont — a state that has struggled to attract and retain residents to boost its population figures — every household counts.
“We are hovering around a probable decrease in the population overall,” said Michael Moser, the head of the Vermont State Data Center. “But we don’t know that for sure unless we count everyone, and the fewer people that we count, the worse that looks for us if population growth is the goal.”
The escalation of COVID-19 and measures related to its spread across the country last month corresponded with the planned launch of the 2020 Census. Social distancing and other public health efforts are delaying some of Vermont’s Census activities, and interfering with community outreach efforts.
On Census Day 2020, the official holiday of the Census, here’s a look at how the Census is panning out in Vermont under COVID-19, along with information on how your household can get counted.
[To fill out the Census online, go to my2020census.gov.]
How Vermont is doing
As of March 30, roughly 29% of Vermont households that the Census has mailed a form to have completed it, below the national average of 36%, according to data compiled by the Census Bureau.
In Vermont, Chittenden County has the highest response rate for its 2020 form, according to John Adams of the Vermont Center for Geographic Information, who analyzed Census data on a live website. Addison County has the second-highest rate. Essex and Windham counties have the lowest rates.
But those numbers may be deceiving. Moser said responses may be “slower” this year as COVID-19 has taken up so much of the public conversation lately.
“I know my mind is in a much different place than it was three weeks ago,” Moser said. “There’s a lot going on that might prevent them from thinking about the Census.”
The Census has extended its deadline for people to respond online from now until mid-August.
When it comes to Vermont, there’s another reason why the response rate may be deceptively low: Census letters get sent to all residences, including second homes and vacation homes, Moser said.
“They’re going to keep sending mail to homes that may not be occupied until they send someone to knock on that door and realize that it really is not occupied,” he said.
But the divide between urban areas like Burlington and other areas of the state may also reflect the demographics and geography of Vermont. More rural areas have more people who are not able to complete the form due to their education level or lack of internet access, Moser said.
How COVID-19 is affecting the Census
The COVID-19 outbreak and the widespread efforts to minimize its damage have dominated the news cycle, overwhelming messaging to bolster participation in the decennial count. And social distancing protocols are presenting challenges to the process, which has traditionally relied on legions of census-takers showing up on people’s doorsteps.
A silver lining is that the Census Bureau, for the first time, has made it possible for the public to respond by filling out their form online, according to Moser.
“This is a wonderful, wonderful opportunity to ensure that we’re getting the data collection without impacting people’s health and safety right now,” Moser said. “So it’s a challenge, but it’s also a real strength of the methodology this decade.”
However, not all Census activity takes place online. Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the Census Bureau has delayed the timeline for “enumerators” to go door-to-door visiting households that haven’t filled out the form.
Community organizations have also been forced to cancel events to promote the Census among hard-to-count populations, such as people who are homeless. “Those [activities] are on delay so those folks aren’t going to see the physical presence like they would have,” Moser said.
They hope to hold those events when the virus’ spread winds down, but in the meantime, they’re trying as hard as possible to find virtual alternatives, Moser said.
“Right now we’re just kind of doing what everyone else is doing,” he said. “Waiting for the next deadline.”
Why it matters to Vermont
Beyond the broad importance of knowing how many people live in the state, there’s a practical benefit of getting everyone counted: cash.
Many federal government programs — from Medicaid to free student lunches — are distributed based on the information the government gets from the Census, Moser said.
Counting for Dollars, a research project from George Washington University, estimates that $2.5 billion in federal dollars are distributed to Vermonters with guidance from Census data.
Moser said Census-related funding includes programs and organizations affected by COVID-19, like funding for hospitals and emergency services.
It also affects the day-to-day life of Vermonters who rely on government services and infrastructure.
“This impacts the dollars that we get for transportation projects,” he said. “So if you want to see more paving done on your local highways, then you need to respond to the Census to make sure they know that there’s people out there using those highways.”
The Census also affects how election districts are drawn, referred to as apportionment.
How to get counted
Census letters began to land on Vermonters’ doorsteps in mid-March. Within each letter is a code and a web address for my2020census.gov, where you plug in your code and answer the questions in any of 13 languages.
It usually takes just a few minutes to answer the handful of questions on demographics, origins and living situation. One person should fill out the form for everyone in the household. The Census form does not ask about citizenship status; the federal government scrapped the question after a legal battle that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
If you accidentally tossed your letter in the trash, you can still complete the form online. Just start the questionnaire, then click on “If you do not have a Census ID, click here.”
There are other ways to fill out the form for those without internet access or who have difficulty using the internet. You can fill it out over the phone, or, when social distancing rules are relaxed, go to a library or community organization to fill it out there.
The Census has released guidelines on how college students and other people displaced by COVID-19 should count themselves. Essentially, you can record your place of residence as where you should have been before COVID-19 displaced you, similar to how the Census has handled natural disaster displacement, Moser said.
