This week, the U.S. Census Bureau has begun deploying census enumerators in neighborhoods across Southern California. This in-person phase, essential for counting hard-to-reach populations that can include renters and immigrants, was delayed from May due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But these census workers won't have much time to complete the task of visiting 40 percent of L.A. County's homes where residents have yet to respond to the decennial count.
The Trump administration recently announced it would move up the completion date by a month, from Oct. 31 to Sept. 30. This gives census workers just 50 days to contact and count Angelenos who have not yet submitted a census form, and it has census advocates worried about an undercount.
A Census Bureau spokesperson said canvassers will be focusing on neighborhoods with low response rates, such as South L.A. and Southeast L.A., along with downtown and the Westside.
For those who are not excited about a census taker showing up at the door, there's still time to complete a census form on the internet, over the phone or send it in by mail.
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