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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Launches Effort To Increase Census Participation In Queens, The Bronx

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was in Queens on Saturday, launching an effort to increase Census participation and voter registration in her district.

Ocasio-Cortez and her team were at the Woodside Houses to kick off the campaign.

She represents parts of Queens and the Bronx.

RELATED STORY: New Yorkers Urged To Fill Out Census, Register To Vote With Deadlines Less Than 100 Days Away

She says New York City has only about a 50% return rate on Census forms and that could have big consequences.

"When we do not know that families exist, which is what happens when we get an undercount of the Census, we can't fund schools, we can't fund infrastructure, we don't know where to put hospitals, and this results in the situation that we have in Corona, which is one of the most overcrowded school districts in the city," Ocasio-Cortez said.

She says according to some projections, New York could lose two Congressional seats because of an undercount.

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