Gov. Tony Evers created a Complete Count Committee for the 2020 Census to help ensure federal funding and representation for the state of Wisconsin.
The committee is made up of multiple state senators and representatives, as well as public servants from around the state, according to a press release from WisPolitics. Evers created the committee through Executive Order #55.
Through a variety of tasks, the Committee will ensure all residents of Wisconsin are able to represent themselves in the 2020 Census.
“A fair and accurate count in the 2020 Census is essential to ensure communities across Wisconsin receive federal funding and fair representation,” the order said.
According to the order, there are populations within Wisconsin deemed hard to count in the census. Some of these populations include children, immigrants and renters.
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The committee will investigate the reasons these populations are hard to count. Then, the committee will provide strategies on how to overcome those issues.
“The committee shall form a Hard-to-Count Populations Subcommittee to ensure Wisconsin’s hard-to-count populations are accurately and completely counted,” the order said.
According to WiCount Census 2020, completing the census is required by law and allows the government to distribute over $675 billion in federal funds as well as provide the correct amount of congressional seats per state.
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For students, deciding where to be counted can be a tricky task. According to WiCount Census 2020, students should be counted at the residence where they live for the majority of the year.
“For example, college students living away from their parental home while attending college in the U.S. (living either on-campus or off-campus) are counted at the on-campus or off-campus residence where they live and sleep most of the time,” WiCount Census 2020 said.
For the first time, the census can be completed online instead of by mail or phone, though these options will still exist, according to WiCount Census. The census opens for online responses on March 12 and should be completed by April 1.