Others Say

As 2019 nears an end and we say goodbye to a decade, 2020 affords us an opportunity as a U.S. citizen to make a difference to our state and to our local community through the 2020 census.

The U.S. Constitution mandates the Census to provide the data for apportionment of representatives among the State for the House of Representatives every 10 years.

The data that is collected is confidential and protected by law, and is not shared with immigration, law enforcement, or any other organization. Only the cumulative data is used for statistical purposes.

The Census data drives federal dollars to our state and local communities through the collected information. Federally funded programs such as Medicaid, Pell grants, highway planning and construction, food programs for our schools, children’s health insurance programs, child care and development block grants, and MANY MORE PROGRAMS are dependent on this data.

The future of our community depends on us getting this right.

2020 Census invitations will be delivered in March by mail, with options to complete the ballot by mail, phone, or online. There are only 10 questions, and the ballot will only take a minute or two of your time.

The impact is huge.

For EVERY person that is not counted, Ellsworth loses $42,681.

If you read nothing else from this editorial, read the importance of completing the survey for the benefit of the Ellsworth community for the next 10 years.

Ellsworth County Economic Development is leading a campaign locally known as a Complete Count Committee, formed to deploy efforts to educate the community about the importance of completing the Census survey.

We will identify hardto-count populations, ways to assist people in completing their surveys, create an awareness marketing campaign, and hope to enforce the importance of the US Census.

If you’d like to be a part of the Complete Count Committee, please contact Stacie at ewcountyeconomicdevelopment@gmail.com.

This is important for ALL of us.