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Elected officials make final push to get CNY residents to complete 2020 census

Tom Magnarelli
/
WRVO Public Media

Elected officials in Syracuse and Onondaga County are making a final push to get residents to fill out the 2020 Census. But there is uncertainty over when the count will end, after a federal judge ruled late Thursday that the count, originally set to end September 30, must be extended to October 31.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said more than 61% of residents in the city filled out the census on their own in 2010. With the census count ending Sept. 30, the city’s current rate is at 54%.

“The best way that we can ensure people get counted is if they do it themselves and do it now,” Walsh said. “We’re in a pandemic. If people don’t want someone knocking on their door, fill out the form you got in the mail, and then you know it’s done.”

The census can also be completed over the phone at 844-330-2020, or online at my2020census.gov.

In New York state, the total response rate is at 97%. That includes the number of people who filled out the census after census workers knocked on doors and helped. That number is not known on the local level, but Walsh said it will significantly increase the city's total.

“Ten years ago, we were undercounted, and we’ve been dealing with the impacts of that for the past decade,” Walsh said. “I don’t want to be looking back ten years from now thinking ‘what if,’ and I don’t want the community to, as well. Now more than ever, we need every federal dollar we can get.”

This week, elected officials visited one of the lowest responding census tracts in Syracuse to pass out information. County Executive Ryan McMahon said getting an accurate count is critical. The county fell just short of the population threshold to receive direct funding through the federal CARES Act to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“If we had an accurate count in 2010, we may not have had some of these challenges," McMahon said.

The data from the census is used to determine political representation and the yearly distribution of more than $1 trillion of funding for essential services.

Tom Magnarelli is a reporter covering the central New York and Syracuse area. He joined WRVO as a freelance reporter in 2012 while a student at Syracuse University and was hired full time in 2015. He has reported extensively on politics, education, arts and culture and other issues around central New York.