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The suspension of field operations by the United States Census Bureau in response to COVID-19 coronavirus has left nearly 18 percent of New Mexico without the ability to easily participate in the 2020 Census, according to a state group coordinating with the federal Census officials.

“This has resulted in artificially lower-than-average response rates and poses yet another burden for our state to overcome for a complete count in the decennial effort,” read a press release from I Count New Mexico.

New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary and Chairperson of the State Complete Count Commission Olivia Padilla-Jackson said some New Mexicans haven't received any notices to participate, which led to a lag in responses.

“New Mexico is shouldering a disproportionate share of the national burden when it comes to the impact that COVID-19 has had on the Census,” she said.

MORE:As coronavirus closes Census field offices, New Mexico group continues education, participation effort

Due to COVID-19, the Census Bureau suspended all field operations four days after they began, the press release indicated.

That included efforts by Census workers to hand-deliver forms to households that don’t have standard addresses or receive their mail at post office boxes, per the release.

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Russ Doss, from the engineering firm of Souder, Miller and Associates, is the coordinator of the Eddy County Complete Committee. He said the form hand-deliveries are part of a process called Update Leave.

“It’s primarily for rural areas, the Census workers go out and drop the form by the house and they can fill it out right then and take it back with them, or the people can mail it back,” he said.

Doss said Census workers were scheduled to visit New Mexico’s rural spots around March 12.

“Then the COVID happened, and New Mexico (State Government) said no one can do this. Since it’s continued the Update Leave process keeps getting pushed farther and farther back,” he said.

Doss said workers won’t be going out and the forms will be mailed between June 13 and July 9.

“We basically lost a couple of months in terms of that and these people who are on the Update Leave list, they have had no response,” he said.

“All the other people in New Mexico had a postcard mailed to them between March 12 and April 1 with a code on it. They could either go online and enter that code and complete the Census form.

“All of these people that have been listed in the Update Leave designation, they’ve received nothing.”

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Without receiving notification, Doss said nearly 18 percent of the state’s population hasn’t responded.

“That’s why it’s kind of a quasi-crisis for New Mexico,” he said. “The good news is it’s not as bad for Eddy County, because Eddy County only has 4.7 percent of our addresses as Update Leave.”

Tracee Bentley, CEO and president of the Permian Basin Strategic Partnership, said COVID-19 has cast possible uncertainty and concern on Census participation across the country and New Mexico.

“Where we have a larger proportion of rural communities that may not fall into the standard parameters for Census form delivery,” she said.

“We understood our region was at an increased risk of an under-count from the beginning, having conducted an economic impact study at the beginning of the year, and launched The Permian Counts campaign to help face this challenge head on. The Permian Strategic Partnership remains committed to maximizing Census participation in our communities to build a stronger future.”

MORE:Data dashboard breaks down COVID-19 numbers in Eddy County

Bentley said New Mexico and the Permian Basin are home to a large number of rural and difficult-to-reach communities, like man camps and other transitory housing, where residents may not have a standard address or fall into the group response category.

“We are working hard to identify these communities and share resources so our residents understand their options and the importance of responding to the Census as soon as they are able,” she said.

“We also want to emphasize that residents and workers should respond to the Census in the place in which they spend 50 or more percent of their time. For many oil field workers, their families may live elsewhere, but they spend the majority of their time in the Permian Basin and thereby count here.”

Bentley said an accurate Census count could mean a lot for the Permian Basin.

“It means we have the opportunity to make certain we receive our share of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding for our communities for the next decade, impacting our healthcare, education, infrastructure and transportation services for years to come,” she said.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.