Montana Governor Steve Bullock is asking the U.S. Census Bureau to extend the self-response deadline for the decennial headcount.
Bullock wants the deadline pushed back from mid-Aug. to Sep. 30.
In a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross dated Apr. 2, Bullock says hard-to-count and rural populations may be missed, as some strategies are no longer viable due to response measures to the novel coronavirus.
The U.S. Census Bureau recently suspended field operations until mid-April.
Montana could gain a second seat in U.S. Congress and see increased federal funding with every resident counted.
As of Apr. 2 about a third of Montanans had responded to the 2020 Census by mail, phone and online. Nationally the response rate was 41 percent.
Cascade, Lewis and Clark, and Yellowstone counties lead the pack with 40 percent response rates. Rural counties in eastern Montana average response rate in the teens and lower.
More information about the census, including links to self-respond, can be found here.
