Assemblyman Robert Smullen (R,C-Meco) is encouraging New York residents to complete their 2020 Census questionnaire. Every U.S. citizen is required by law to complete the 2020 Census.

2020 Census invitations were supposed to be received by every American household by April 1. Citizens are able to respond online, by phone or by mail. The Census asks simple questions and never asks for Social Security Numbers, money, political affiliation or bank account numbers. Different from past years, the 2020 Census will not ask a question about citizenship.

Currently, the state self-response rate is 55%. In Fulton County, the average response rate is 48.9%; Herkimer County is 48.3%; Hamilton County is 6.8%; St. Lawrence County is 50.1%; and Oneida County is 57.9%.

“The 2020 Census is extremely important to our country as a whole,” said Smullen. “Every ten years, the federal government does a population count to gauge the amount of funding to be distributed to communities. I am encouraging all New Yorkers to fill out the simple form that can be completed either online, over the phone or by mail. Without accurate representation, the federal and state funding streams that our local communities depend on for many services like health care and education will not be as resourceful as they should be.

“I urge each county within my district to match the state self-response rate. We each have a responsibility to our communities to provide the government with this information, and if we take this responsibility lightly, the resources granted at the state and federal levels could be adversely affected.”