The thought of being underfunded and underrepresented for the next 10 years due to an incomplete census count might be a spooky one, but the U.S. Census Bureau has announced residents now have until Halloween to treat themselves to the brief questionnaire that will help avoid that.

All Alabamians who have not already participated in the 2020 census can do so by self-responding via phone call to 844-330-2020, by returning the mailed paper form, online at my2020census.gov or by giving the household information to a socially distanced door-to-door census taker. As of Monday, Alabama ranked 51st of 52 in total counted, beating out Louisiana by only 0.3%.

“This extra time will make a difference, as Alabama households have more time to be counted,” said Kenneth Boswell, chairman of Alabama Counts! and director of Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. “It takes a matter of minutes to determine the future of our state, so let’s use this time to cement our tally and influence all that depends on this final count.”

Local leaders have consistently stressed that funding for infrastructure, education and health care, among other programs, will follow the numbers, not the need. In other words, simply needing a road paved, a new school built or better community services won’t be enough if that community refuses to participate in the 2020 census.

“When this (pandemic) is over with, our community is going to need lots of help,” Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly told The News Courier in April. “A lot of people are really struggling, financially and all, and this will help programs” that help them, he said.

The questionnaire focuses on how many people were living in the household as of April 1. Residents will not have to provide personal information, such as any political affiliations, Social Security numbers or bank information.

They will also never be asked to provide proof of citizenship, money or donations. The information received by the U.S. Census Bureau through the questionnaire is kept strictly confidential under federal law.

Visit 2020census.gov/en/about-questions.html to review each question on the form. Residents can also use the links on the page to learn how their information is protected, why those questions are asked and why it is so important that they complete the questionnaire.