U.S. Census 2020 Response Deadline Extended to October 31

DeLand, FL – The U.S. Census 2020 deadline has been extended to October 31. This comes after a federal judge in California rulled late Thursday night that that national counting for the 2020 census can continue. Responses in Volusia County are at about 85 percent as of September 23. The number nationwide is about 95 percent. Volusia County Council District One representative Barb Girtman is also co-chair of the Complete Count Committee. She says that the self-response rate in the county is about 66 percent and that’s in line with numbers from across the country. Census takers have been out since August 11 adding about another 20 percent to the total.   Among the cities in Volusia County, according to Girtman, one has the highest rate of responses. "Once again, DeBary takes the lead. So they are in the number one spot and hard to catch at this time. We’re actually looking at acknowledging them with something special coming up at one of our Council meetings." Girtman says the 15 percent or so of residents who have not responded to the U.S. Census are leaving a lot of money on the table for Volusia County.  She said people need to understand that the census count counts, especially when it comes to federal money.  "They are dollars that impact our schools, our roads, our bridges, our health care, hospitals, and if we have a short count, we have short dollars." If you don’t have the form sent out by the U.S. Census and want to be counted, you can do so online at 2020census.gov. If you don’t have a computer at home, you can go to the library and fill it out there. You can also be counted over the phone by calling 844-330-2020.