Senate Review by Senator Darcy Jech

The marathon of collecting an accurate state population count for the 2020 census is coming to a close, and it’s more important than ever that we encourage our family, friends, neighbors and coworkers to complete the questionnaire in a sprint to the finish line.

September 30 is the last day to respond to the census and ensure you and your family are counted in our state’s population, which is used to determine how billions of federal dollars are distributed to our state and local communities for important core services like education, health care, transportation and public safety. It’s been estimated that for each person not accurately counted for by the census, our state and municipalities will lose about $17,000 over the next decade. That means if just 100 people aren’t counted, we will lose $1.7 million in important federal funds. Now take into consideration that Oklahoma’s response rate is only 59.8 percent –that’s a lot of money we could be leaving on the table.

Unfortunately, Oklahoma ranks in the bottom 10 nationally in census response rate – tying Arkansas for 41st – but it doesn’t have to end that way. If we all work together to complete the census in the final weeks, we can quickly work our way up the rankings and finish strong.

As of Sept. 10, our census response across District 26 was below the state average. Individual county responses are as follows:

• Kingfisher county: 55.8 percent

• Custer county: 55.2 percent

• Beckham county: 48.4 percent

• Roger Mills county: 44.1 percent

• Blaine county: 42 percent

• Caddo county: 37.9 percent

Since the census return deadline is quickly approaching, now is the time to complete the questionnaire if you’ve been putting it off. You can take the census online at www.2020census.gov or by phone at 844-330- 2020. If you haven’t responded, you may also receive a knock at your door from a U.S. Census Bureau employee trying to collect information about your household. Census workers will be out on doorsteps until the Sept. 30 deadline, so please be friendly if you see them – they are working hard to ensure our communities receive the funding they deserve for core services we all depend on.

The bottom line is being in the bottom 10 for census return rate is not OK. We can and must do better. All it takes is 10 minutes to make sure your household is counted, and you’ll help secure a brighter future for our state.

Thank you for allowing me to be your voice at the State Capitol. I welcome your comments and concerns, and if there is anything I can do to help you, please reach out. You can contact me by email at Darcy.Jech@oksenate.gov