Galvin: Check mailbox for Census form

Warning that a decade of federal funding is on the line, Secretary of State William Galvin alerted Massachusetts residents who have not responded to the 2020 US Census that mail is once again headed their way.

The Census Bureau will send a second round of forms to households that have not yet responded to the decennial population count in areas across America with low response rates, Galvin announced Tuesday.

“If you receive this second census form, it means that no one in your home has been counted in the 2020 Census, and many of your neighbors haven’t been counted either,” Galvin, the 2020 Census Liaison for Massachusetts, said in a press release. “An undercount in your neighborhood will mean your community will be shortchanged in federal funding for the next ten years. If you receive this second questionnaire, please send it back immediately.”

Through Sunday, 91.1 percent of Massachusetts households have been counted, with 67.9 percent covered in self-responses and 23.3 percent reached in follow-ups, according to Census Bureau data. The national response rate is 87.6 percent.

Under the Bureau’s current plans, the 2020 count will end on Sept. 30 rather than Oct. 31. Galvin’s office said Massachusetts and other states challenged that decision in court, and counting will continue under a judge’s orders while the litigation proceeds.


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