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‘IGNORE ONLINE CENSUS INVITATION’
DOC: Island Areas Census is 100% paper-based
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Posted on Mar 25 2020
The CNMI Department of Commerce is alerting everyone in the community to disregard any online census invitation.
Social media platforms have been alerting its users to make sure they are counted in the 2020 Census by filling up a short questionnaire online, which CNMI residents should disregard.
“The 2020 Island Areas Censuses will be 100% paper-based and led by Census takers. Census takers will be conducting in-person interviews and not online,” said the department yesterday. “If you live in the CNMI, American Samoa, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, you will not complete the 2020 Census online or over the phone.”
Following Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ Executive Order 2020-04, which placed the CNMI under a state of public health emergency for COVID-19, and effecting a two-week government shutdown, all 2020 CNMI Census operations are on hold until further notice.
Similarly, the Department of Commerce also warns everyone of a 2020 Census Scam alert instructing residents to go online and complete the 2020 census to obtain COVID-19 stimulus funds.
“The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands may occasionally receive 2020 Census stateside advertising on national television, radio and social media. However, the 2020 Island Areas Censuses is 100% paper-based with census workers conducting in-person interviews,” the department stated.
In the CNMI, before the temporary halt in operations, Census has begun conducting house-to-house in March, with enumerators conducting in-person interviews that take an average of 45 minutes to complete.
“The Census Bureau uses a long-form census to meet the Island Areas data needs for detailed social, housing, and economic information,” the department stated.
A census of the population is conducted every 10 years, per the U.S. Constitution. Census statistics are critical as it informs how billions of dollars of federal funds will be allocated by state, local, and federal lawmakers every year for the next 10 years.
