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Door-to-door census taking begins this week as Feds cut the count short
Aug 06, 2020 5:30 am
Kenneth C. Crowe II reports in the Times Union that in Albany County on Aug. 6 census counters begin door-to-door canvassing for the 2020 Census. That begins as the administration of Donald Trump announced it will stop the census count early, on Sept. 30. Local officials are now worried an undercount will result in the loss of federal and state aid. “It’s another example of an attempt to get an undercount,” David Galin, head of Albany’s census effort and Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s chief of staff, said. So far, only 40.6 percent of Greene County residents have self-reported, according to the Census Bureau. In Columbia County, 49.5 have reported; in Albany County 62.3 percent; in Rensselaer County 60.2 percent; in Ulster County 56.7 percent; and in Dutchess County 61.9 percent. Those numbers are all below the final census in 2010. Beginning this week 362 enumerators with smartphones are contacting households who have not filled out the survey. And local officials, who want those federal funds, are doing anything they can to get residents to fill out the census. “We’re putting a lot of stuff out on social media. So much rides on a complete count,” said Nassau Supervisor David Fleming. His Rensselaer County town has had 59.1 percent of households respond so far, less than the 61.5 percent that answered before the enumerators came out in 2010. Read more about this story in the Times Union.