The deadline for completing the 2020 Census has been moved to Sept. 30, a month sooner than the previous end date of Oct. 21. With less than a month to go, nearly 3 in 10 Pennsylvanians are still uncounted. Pennsylvanians are encouraged to respond to the census by mail, phone or online by Sept. 30.

“We strongly believe that everyone should be counted in the census,” states Bill Johnston-Walsh, AARP Pennsylvania State Director. “When you respond to the census, you help your community get its fair share of the hundreds of billions in federal funds spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works and other vital programs every year.”

Census information helps health providers predict the spread of diseases through communities with children or elderly people. And when disasters hit, the census tells rescuers how many people will need their help.

The census is also used to draw the lines of legislative districts and to determine Pennsylvania’s representation in Congress.

Businesses use census data to decide where to build factories, offices and stores, which creates jobs and generates economic activity while also helping industry reduce financial risk and locate potential markets.

Efforts to ensure a complete census count will include door-knocking efforts, although an AARP survey found that 40 percent of those who have not yet participated in the survey are unwilling to talk to a census worker who comes to their door.

Other efforts include collecting responses online, over the phone and by mail will continue through the end of September. This new date is “in response to the Bureau’s need to accelerate the completion of data collection and apportionment counts to meet the statutory deadline of Dec. 31.”

AARP has signed onto a letter from The Census Project, which AARP has been part of, asking Congress to statutorily extend the census reporting deadline to allow more time to provide a full and complete count. Specifically, the Census Project and co-signers are urging Congress to extend the Dec. 31 statutory reporting deadline by four months.

Pennsylvanians can take the 2020 Census online at 2020census.gov, by mailing in the census forum, or by calling 844-330-2020.