By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
The 2020 Census has begun in Alaska, and has important ramifications for federal funding dollars, said Census Bureau Partnership Specialist Barbara Miranda at Wednesday’s Chamber of Commerce meeting.
“It matters because of power, and it matters because of money,” Miranda told the audience.
She noted that the U.S. Constitution specifies that the Federal government will conduct a census once a decade, with the first taking place in 1790.
Barbara Miranda (Sentinel Photo)
“The key reason it is in the Constitution is for apportioning our representation in Congress,” Miranda said. With Alaska’s population only half the size of the usual Congressional district, the 2020 count will not entitle the state to another seat in the House of Representatives, but Miranda said the critical importance of the census to Alaska is to get the state’s fair federal funding based on population, about $3,000 for each person counted. This includes highway dollars, she noted.
“If you care about the ferries, you care about the census,” she said.
She added that responding to the census is required by law, and the data gathered on individuals in the enumeration process will be confidential for 72 years.
Additional information on how to reply to the census can be found at census.gov, or at alaskacounts.org.
