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Census Bureau site goes live as counting begins in earnest

Members of the Congressional Tri-Caucus speaks to reporters to discuss the 2020 Census and the concern for getting an accurate count in minority communities, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2020. From left are Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chair of the House Oversight Committee, House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., chair of the 2020 Census Task Force for the CBC, House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., Native American Caucus co-chair, and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Members of the Congressional Tri-Caucus speaks to reporters to discuss the 2020 Census and the concern for getting an accurate count in minority communities, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2020. From left are Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chair of the House Oversight Committee, House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., chair of the 2020 Census Task Force for the CBC, House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., Native American Caucus co-chair, and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Members of the Congressional Tri-Caucus speaks to reporters to discuss the 2020 Census and the concern for getting an accurate count in minority communities, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2020. From left are Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chair of the House Oversight Committee, House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., chair of the 2020 Census Task Force for the CBC, House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., Native American Caucus co-chair, and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By MIKE SCHNEIDER / Associated Press 4 min read

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – The 2020 census is off and running for much of America now.

The U.S. Census Bureau made a soft launch of the 2020 census website on Monday, making its form available online. On Thursday, the Census Bureau will begin mailing out notices far and wide.

For the bureau, the once-a-decade head count is akin to running a sprint and marathon at the same time. It takes awhile, but there’s plenty of action throughout.

“It is that intense …. counting up to 330 million people in a very diverse, very mobile population, and over 140 million housing units,” Stephen Buckner, a senior Census Bureau executive, said during a recent visit to Miami.

The bureau had an official in-person launch in January in Toksook Bay, Alaska. Mail service is spotty and internet connectivity is unreliable in remote Alaska, making door-to-door canvassing the best way to gather responses. The Alaska villages get a head start over the rest of the nation because many residents scatter each spring to subsistence hunting and fishing grounds.