Census Committee To Begin Developing Complete Count Strategies for Landmark 2020 Census
Led by Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, the committee will encourage
full and accurate participation in next year’s online-centric census.
AUGUSTA – The first meeting of the Census 2020 Maine Complete Count Committee is scheduled for Thursday, November 21, 2019, in room 127 of the Burton M. Cross Building from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. The committee is expected to develop and support counting efforts for the 2020 census, a milestone census that will mark the first time an online format will be used as the main data collection method. If needed, people can still complete the census by phone or by mail.
The committee was formed via executive order by Governor Janet T. Mills in October. Governor Mills has appointed Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap as committee chair.
“The decennial census tells us who we are and where we are, which allows for better planning and resource allocation across a broad spectrum of public and private services,” said Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap. “Our goal as the Complete Count Committee for the State of Maine is to ensure that the public is informed about this process and encourage participation so that Maine’s census figures accurately reflect our current population. I look forward to working with community leaders throughout the state to accomplish this goal as we head into 2020.”
Members of the Committee will include Commissioners or their designees from the Departments of Administrative and Financial Services; Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry; Economic and Community Development; Education; Health and Human Services; Labor; Public Safety; and Transportation as well as the Director or designee from the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.
“The formation of this committee reinforces why the census is so important to Maine,” said Jeff Behler, director of the New York Regional Office for the U.S. Census Bureau. “This group will also help reinforce that the census is safe and that all data cannot be shared with any local, state or federal law enforcement agency. I thank Governor Mills and Secretary of State Matt Dunlap for their leadership on such an important activity that will shape the future of Maine."
An accurate census allows Maine to receive federal government funding for a variety of programs. In FY 2016, Maine received more than $4.1 billion across 55 federal spending programs because of the 2010 census results. Maine’s population in 2010 was 1,328,361.
The 2020 census falls on Maine’s bicentennial, and therefore the 200th anniversary of Maine’s first census. The Maine population in 1820 was about 298,000 people.