ATLANTA – State Representative Clay Pirkle (R-Ashburn) encourages residents in Ben Hill, Irwin and Turner counties to participate in the 2020 U.S. Census before the September 30 deadline. As of September 1, Georgia’s self-response rate is 60.2 percent, which is behind the national average of 64.6 percent. The response rate in Ben Hill County is 45.9 percent, Irwin County’s response rate is 49 percent, and Turner County’s response rate is 49.2 percent.
“The only way we can secure fair representation on a state and federal level is with a 100 percent response rate, but with less than half of our voices accounted for in this census, our communities may be underrepresented for the next 10 years,” said Rep. Pirkle. “Our rural communities also cannot risk losing vital federal funding that helps so many families in need. I urge each and every household to do their part by taking just a couple minutes out of the day to complete this extremely important census before it is too late.”
The 2020 U.S. Census ensures accurate representation for districts at both the state and federal level. The number of Georgians counted in the census also helps direct federal funding to local communities for health care, emergency and disaster response, education and infrastructure. For demographic purposes, large and small businesses may also base their future planning on the census results.
Georgians can respond to the 2020 U.S. Census online at my2020census.gov, which takes approximately five minutes to complete. Households may also call 844-330-2020 or fill out and return the official U.S. Census Bureau mail that they may have received. Households have through September 30 to respond to the census, but they are encouraged to respond as soon as possible.
Additionally, the Governor’s Complete Count Committee (CCC) and his nonpartisan initiative called “Every. One. Counts.” have been working to ensure that every Georgia resident is counted.
For more information on Georgia’s participation in the census, please visit https://census.georgia.gov or follow @gacensus2020 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more information on the “Every. One. Counts.” initiative, please click here.
Representative Clay Pirkle represents the citizens of District 155, which includes Ben, Hill, Irwin and Turner counties and portions of Tift and Coffee counties. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2015 and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee and Secretary of the State Properties Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government, Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Banks & Banking, Higher Education, Motor Vehicles and Science and Technology committees.
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