Thursday Is The Last Day To Complete The Census

WASHINGTON — Anyone who has yet to fill out the census is cutting it close to the wire: the census officially ends on Thursday, so there are just hours left to get yours in if you have not already.

Tuesday, after a prolonged battle over the 2020 census, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could legally end the count early. As a result, the White House's plan to cut short the census will go ahead, meaning all respondents have until the end of the day Thursday to submit their information.

The results of the once-a-decade census will leave a massive mark on our communities. Census data helps determine how $1.5 trillion in federal funding will be allocated, and how much each area will receive for critical services like hospitals, Head Start programs, school lunches and summer lunch programs, Medicaid, food stamps and more.

That's why activists had pushed to keep the census going for its full duration: in the aforementioned Supreme Court ruling, a coalition of local governments and civil rights groups had sued the Trump administration in the hopes of extending the deadline, arguing that the shorter count would underrepresent minorities and hard-to-count communities, and giving already underserved districts less funding. Historically, people of color, children, senior citizens, undocumented immigrants, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community, Native Americans in tribal areas, the homeless and low-income people are among the least likely to be counted accurately in the census.

Related: Census Undercount In Washington Could Leave Billions On The Table

As of Wednesday afternoon, Washington's response rate is above the national average, with 72.2 percent of Washington residents already accounted for. That's also better than the 2010 census, when 62.4 percent of Washingtonians completed the census. Nationally, just 66.8 percent of homes have responded.

Still, Washington's leaders are urging the remaining 27.8 percent of Washingtonians to fill out their ballots before it's too late.

Some counties, like King and Snohomish counties, have very high response rates, but others, particularly rural counties in eastern Washington, do not and as a result could miss out on crucial funds.

The census does still accept paper ballots, but this year most respondents did so online. Of Washington's census-takers, 62.4 percent submitted online, and there is still time to follow their lead: the census can be taken online at https://my2020census.gov/.