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A2 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 18 January 2020

What you need to know before 2020 Census starts in Alaska

By MARK THIESSEN and when the ground is fro-
MIKE SCHNEIDER zen. So, the Census Bureau
Associated Press starts the head count in The
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Last Frontier state by going
— The 2020 Census kicks off door-to-door in January —
Tuesday in remote Alaska. more than two months be-
U.S. Census Bureau Direc- fore the rest of the nation
tor Steven Dillingham will — so it can make sure it
be there to conduct the reaches villages before the
first count in the Bering spring thaw, when residents
Sea community of Toksook head out to fish and hunt.
Bay. Dillingham planned The state's heritage is tra-
to spend time Friday at ditionally on display during
the Alaska Native Cultural these first counts. In 2000,
Charter School in Anchor- then-U.S. Census Bureau
age, giving students a Director Kenneth Prewitt
lesson on statistics. Addi- arrived for the first count in U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham addresses state and Alaska Native leaders Friday,
tional outreach is planned the village of Unalakleet as Jan. 17, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska.
throughout the weekend. a passenger in a dog sled. Associated Press
___ "Our census takers will be
WHY IS THE 2020 CENSUS using small planes, as I will ing an appearance Friday about a quarter of house- Court blocked it.
STARTING IN ALASKA? be in a couple of days, or at the Alaska Native Heri- holds will initially receive ___
With its sparse population snowmobiles, which I'm un- tage Center in Anchorage. paper questionnaires that bEveryone residing in the
and subzero temperature, certain of. But maybe that's This year, Alaska Native can be mailed back. By United States and the five
rural Alaska can be hard to what I'm gonna do as well," dancers from Toksook Bay May, the Census Bureau U.S. territories, including
reach, and some of its vil- Dillingham told state and will perform for Dillingham. will be sending out workers non-citizens and immi-
lages are accessible only Alaska Native leaders dur- ___ to knock on the doors of grants living in the country
WHEN DOES IT START ELSE- households it hasn't heard illegally. Also included are
WHERE? back from. military personnel tempo-
Residents in the rest of the ___ rarily deployed overseas,
U.S., as well as the rest of WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS? who are counted at their
Alaska, can start respond- The form asks how many home addresses in the U.S.
ing online and by tele- people live in the house- "Our goal is count every-
phone in mid-March. The hold as of April 1, wheth- one once, only once and
Census Bureau plans to er the home is owned or to count them in the right
send out a first round of no- rented, and the form-filler's place," Dillingham said.
tices explaining how to par- age, race and sex. ___
ticipate during the second It also asks if the form-filler WILL MY INFORMATION BE
week of March. It will send is Latino, and if so, their SHARED?
up to four more rounds of country of origin. In the No. Under federal law, all
mailings, including a pa- race question, the form-fill- responses are kept com-
per questionnaire, in March er also can specify country pletely confidential, and
and April to households of origin. All other residents they can be used only to
that haven't responded. in the household must an- produce statistics.
___ swer, or have the first form- ___
WILL SOMEONE BE KNOCK- filler answer for them, the WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT
ING AT MY DOOR? same questions on age, THE CENSUS?
Only if you fail to reply sex and race. They must Because it is used to deter-
online, by mail or by tele- specify their relationship to mine who your representa-
phone. This is the first cen- the form-filler and if they tive in Congress is, where
sus in which the Census live elsewhere, like away at new businesses can build,
Bureau is encouraging college. For the first time, how crowded your local
most people to answer the same-sex couples will be schools will get over the
questions via the internet. able to identify as such, next decade, and whether
Around three-quarters of either as spouses or unmar- highways in your commu-
households will initially get ried partners. nity get money for repairs.
invitations to respond to ___ The results of the 2020 Cen-
the questionnaire online. IS THERE A CITIZENSHIP sus help determine the dis-
However, the Census Bu- QUESTION? tribution of $1.5 trillion in
reau realizes some com- No. The Trump administra- federal spending, as well
munities don't have easy tion tried to add the ques- as how many congressio-
access to the internet, and tion, but the U.S. Supreme nal seats each state gets.q