State Leaders Say Congressional Representation, Funding At Stake In 2020 Census

With less than two weeks to fill out the Census, Oklahoma’s leaders are making a final push for an accurate count.

Experts said about 8% of Oklahomans remain uncounted. Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money and congressional representation is on the line.

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Senator James Lankford is among the leaders urging Oklahomans to respond to the 2020 Census.

"Are you tired of hearing about the Census? I understand. But the Census is important, and it's the law," Lankford said.

He said federal and state governments use data from it to figure out how to divvy money up for many different services.

"Roads and bridges, infrastructure, law enforcement, veterans' programs, education, healthcare, hundreds of other programs all depend on the Census," Lankford said.

The City of Tulsa's Regional Complete Count Committee is making its own push to get everyone counted. It included a 2020 Census Caravan today through neighborhoods North of Apache in Tulsa.

The Census Bureau says about 92% of Oklahomans have completed the Census. That means about 8% of Oklahomans remain uncounted, with only 12 days to go.

In 2000, Oklahoma lost its sixth congressional seat, in part because of poor census response rates. It's something many hope doesn't happen again and the state can get it back.

"What exactly are you waiting on? It's not hard, it's not complicated, it's quick, it's painless, the questions aren't political, it's just 'how many people live in your household?'," Lankford said.

You can click this link to take the Census here. https://2020census.gov/en.html