Time has nearly run out for the U.S. Census Bureau to complete its 2020 population count, which will determine trillions of dollars in federal funding and political representation for the next decade.
After months of legal battles thatreached the U.S Supreme Court earlier this week, the Trump Administration is ending the Census count at 5:59 am EST on Friday, two weeks earlier than originally planned.
The timeline has raised concerns among some Census watchers who say the count is too rushed to be accurate.
But Regional Census Director Jeff Behler said New Hampshire had “more than enough resources” – including approximately 1,200 staff - to go door to door and conduct Census outreach in the past few months.
“I certainly understand the concerns that people have, but from an operational standpoint, I'm confident in the quality,” he said. “I'm confident in the job that our field staff did.”
According to the Bureau, 99.9 percent of New Hampshire households have been counted, 67 percent of which came through "self responses" online or via paper questionaire. Behler said that on Thursday, the final day of the Census count, field staff in New Hampshire were returning to six households that had not responded to earlier visits.
