Protecting the count

SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly two dozen states are spending millions of dollars to make sure people participate in the 2020 Census amid concerns that undercounting could mean losing critical federal funding or seats in Congress.

Utah became the latest on Monday as its GOPdominated Legislature voted to spend $1 million on outreach for the census, a first for the state that’s one of the youngest and fastest-growing in the country.

Its varied population includes big families with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a growing number of immigrants, and Native Americans on remote reservations.

Utah has added an estimated half-million people since the previous census in 2010, but the number of census workers knocking on doors there is expected to shrink by half, Democratic state Rep. Karen Kwan said.

“It’s a bipartisan issue. It’s not one side or the other saying it’s important,” she said. “This is the time to do it right.”

Funding and representation concerns are on the minds of many state leaders around the country. In California, for example, a think tank has estimated a 4% undercount could lead to the loss of a House seat. In New Mexico, the governor has warned a 1% percent inaccuracy could translate into more than $700 million in lost federal revenue over a decade.

States spending the most money are largely led by Democrats and include Illinois, New York and California, which is spending the most at $187 million, according to data provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The once-a-decade count will be the first done primarily online, which could make it harder to tally people living in Utah’s vast rural spaces. People can also request paper or phone questionnaires.