Millions On The Line: 2020 Census Continues In Chatham

Chatham NJ

16 July, 2020

9:00 AM

Description

CHATHAM, NJ - With a little more than three months remain to turn in their replies, 78.8 percent of Chatham households have self-responded to the 2020 U.S. Census, according to early data from the bureau. At multiple points over the last few months Governor Phil Murphy has spoken about the importance of an accurate census at his daily coronavirus briefings, highlighting that all nine million Garden State residents need to be accurately counted. "In 2010 New Jersey left untold billions of dollars in federal aid on the table, " he said, noting that both federal and state governments use that data to make financial decisions on aid. "If that money isn't coming to New Jersey, it's going to some other state," Murphy said. New Jersey's overall self-response rate stood at 64 percent as of Tuesday, according to the U.S. Census database. The national response rate was 62 percent. The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States. It's mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution and takes place every 10 years. The census is important for several reasons, officials say. Here are a few, according to census.gov: It determines how many representatives each state gets in Congress and is used to redraw district boundariesCensus results help determine federal funding for critical needs such as roads, schools, health care, emergency services and housingBusinesses use the data to help decide where to open new locations Want to self-respond to the 2020 census? It can be completed online here. It can also be completed via phone or mail (learn more here). Due to the coronavirus crisis, people have until Oct. 31 to self-respond this year. Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to [email protected] Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.