Gov. Larry Hogan on Thursday urged Marylanders to complete their 2020 U.S. Census form ahead of the looming Sep. 30th deadline.
Maryland ranks 10th nationwide in its self-response rate and 4th nationwide in its internet response rate. Minnesota ranks 1st in its self-response rate. The other states with a higher self-response rate than Maryland are Wisconsin, Washington, Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Virginia and Utah. The Census is done every ten years and is critical to assessing state’s funding needs for key programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and projects such as school construction.
“As we enter the final month to respond to the 2020 Census, we remain committed to reaching hard-to-count areas in Maryland, which benefit most from federal funding derived from the Census data,” Hogan said in a statement. “Every single response is critical to secure funding for healthcare, schools, hospitals, roads, and other essential services. I continue to urge every single Marylander to help shape our future by filling out their Census at 2020Census.gov.”
Planning Secretary Rob McCord echoed similar sentiments.
“Being number 10 in the U.S. is great news, but every Marylander uncounted represents more than $18,250 in unaccessed federal funding over the next 10 years,” McCord said in a statement. “We have amazing local partners all across the state and we will be doing everything possible to count every Marylander in every community over these next 30 days. Take time today to affect 10 years of tomorrows and help to paint an accurate portrait of each of our diverse communities in Maryland.”
Census Bureau employees currently are visiting the homes of people that have yet to respond to the survey. The employees are following recommended COVID-19 safety protocols such as wearing masks and practicing social distancing. Federal law mandates that all U.S. residents participate in the Census.
There are 110,012 cases of COVID-19 in Maryland as of Thursday morning, according to the state’s Department of Health, and 3,634 people in Maryland have died from the virus. The state’s positivity rate is at 3.41%, which is better than that of most states in the country. Maryland has tested nearly 2,000,000 people for COVID-19.
