Oklahoma has the nation’s lowest response rate, with only 57.8% returning the survey. Eleven counties have less than 40% counted.

An undercount could lead to the state having fewer U.S. House representatives and losing its fair share of federal funding for hospitals, schools, highways and social service programs such as senior centers and child care.

At least $675 billion in federal funds was distributed in 2015 on the basis of census data.

The information is used to redistrict congressional, state, judicial and local election boundaries, plan for emergency response, and inform decision-making for public and private investments.

The Trump administration decided to move up the deadline by four weeks, shortening this part of the collection to six weeks.

This has caused a scramble to find people who haven’t responded or are in transitional living situations. Some live in hard-to-reach places.

If a household refuses to respond, Census Bureau workers can seek information from proxies such as neighbors, real estate agents, delivery drivers and public records.

It is easier — and better for the community — to fill out the forms online or by phone or to answer the questions when a Census collector comes to the door.

Census workers wear identification badges and face masks for public health. They stand outside at a distance to follow health guidelines. They are usually hired from the neighborhoods and communities where they live.

The census is a constitutional mandate that has been carried out every 10 years since 1790 to count all U.S. residents.

Census questions include the names of people in the household and their relationship to each other as well as gender, age, date of birth, race and Hispanic origin. Everyone is counted, regardless of citizenship status or age.

The answers are confidential. Federal law makes it a crime to release any personal information from the census.

Much is riding on having an accurate count for the census. Completing Census Bureau questions is the right thing to do for anyone in the U.S.

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