Census Bureau team visits Swinomish

The countdown is still on.

After having announced in August that it would end its data collection efforts on Sept. 30, the Census Bureau is sprinting to the finish line to complete its constitutional mandate to count all persons living in the U.S.

To that end, a Census team staffed an outdoor counting station at The Village Chevron on the Swinomish Reservation for four hours last Wednesday.

Led by Census Bureau Partnership Specialist Joshua Fliegel, the team was here to connect with local persons who had not yet been contacted during the nearly six months that counting efforts have been under way.

Every 10 years Census workers are charged with counting residents across the nation, a process that used to rely primarily on legwork and door-knocking. This time around, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, technology is being employed to help with the decennial mission.

This year American households have received invitations to complete the census over the Internet, by phone, or by paper questionnaire.

Over 90 percent of households have been counted in the 2020 census, the Bureau announced Sept. 18.

Fliegel said the census is vital for providing the data that determines the level of federal funding communities are eligible to receive to meet their respective essential needs.

“The census data,” he stressed, “plays an important role. It will have a lot to say about grant funding for the next 10 years.”

Fliegel noted that the grant application process is competitive under the best of circumstances, making complete and accurate census data essential.

He and his team were invited to Swinomish by the Tribal Senate, said Fliegel. Jacob Tully of the Swinomish Land Management Program has served as the liaison between the tribe and Census Bureau, he said.

“The tribal government has done a great job getting the word out about the census,” Fliegel said.

During their midweek stop at Swinomish, Fliegel and his co-workers met with a handful of persons who filled out census forms and another couple dozen who requested paperwork to take home and complete.

“We’ve enjoyed our time here,” Fliegel said. “The people have been friendly, knowledgeable and supportive.”

As his team readied to make a Thursday visit to Tulalip, Fliegel said there is still time for persons to be counted in the 2020 Census.

Time, of course, is of the essence. The bureau deadline for completing the census had been Oct. 31. Moving it up to Sept. 30 has drawn some push-back, most notably from political scientist and columnist Thomas Patterson, a professor at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.

“From the standpoint of conducting a census in the midst of pandemic, which compounded the difficulty of counting harder to reach residents,” Patterson wrote recently, “the decision made no sense.”

He blames politics.

“Every census ends up in an undercount,” Patterson insisted, “but it will be more severe this time. Racial and ethnic minorities and poor people who lean Democratic will constitute the large share of those left out. In turn, they will not be counted when congressional and state legislative districts are reapportioned.”

The statutory deadline for completing the census count is Dec. 31, but the Trump Administration has said the Census Bureau needs to deliver all census data by the end of the year.

The administration said ending the population count on Sept. 30 will not hinder a complete and accurate process.

“The Census Bureau shares the public concern that everybody is counted and in the right place,” said Philadelphia Regional Census Center Media Specialist Helene Kramer Longton. “The Census Bureau is saying that we can move this up by a month and get it done.”

“Of course,” she added, “there may be those who disagree.

Those who have not been contacted by the Census Bureau are invited to access 2020census.gov on-line or call 844-330-2020.