The Navajo Nation census was well under way when the coronavirus struck, but now they're behind on the self-reporting phase of the 2020 census.
In April, fewer than 1% of Navajo had reported to the U.S. Census Bureau. That number has risen to about 6.5% — a fraction of those who responded last time.
Randall Akee with the UCLA Department of Public Policy says it’s important for the census to get the numbers right.
"Undercounting is horrible. It’s problematic because it affects everything from allocations of funding to Congressional representation," Akee said.
He said funding for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act was also based on population size.
Although self-reporting is an important part of the process, census workers have a number of ways to fill in missing data.
