ELIZABETHTOWN — Bladen County residents have surpassed the 2010 Census response performance and may get more time to complete the decennial process.

Late Saturday, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the Census Bureau and the Commerce Department from winding down operations this month. A court hearing is scheduled Sept. 17.

Before COVID-19, the count would have ended in July. The adjusted plan added three months, finishing at the end of October. The Census Bureau asked Congress to extend the time it allowed for reporting numbers used in the breakdown on apportionment, a process that determines the number of congressional seats each state gets. When Congress didn’t respond, the new September date was rolled out.

A coalition of cities, counties and civil rights groups sued, arguing the earlier deadline would cause the Census Bureau to overlook minority communities and achieve an inaccurate count.

The count is vital to roughly $1.5 trillion in federal funding to programs that reach the state and county level. Apportionment has been expected to deliver North Carolina a 14th seat in Congress.

Through Saturday, there had been 47.1 percent of Bladen County households responding. The 2010 total was 46.9 percent, up from 45 percent in 2000 and well below the 62 percent that responded in 1990.

Nationwide, 86 percent of all households have been counted — 65 percent of which used the internet, mail or telephone. In North Carolina, 80.8 percent have been counted — 61.2 percent by self-response.

Census workers have been going door to door in Bladen County. The Complete Count Committee, led by Greg Elkins of the Planning Department, reminds that a visit at the front door can be avoided by going to my2020census.gov to complete the survey, or by calling 844-330-2020.

The internet form of completing the census takes less than 10 minutes for most people, some even just five.

Alan Wooten can be reached at 910-247-9132 or awooten@bladenjournal.com. Twitter: @alanwooten19.