2020 U.S. Census to be accessible online, and your response is key

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) -For the first time, the upcoming U.S. Census will be online.

And there’s added effort to make sure Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are counted.

The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement held a kick off event in Kakaako Wednesday.

There’s over 1 million Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S., but advocates say they are underrepresented in the census.

Low numbers also result in a financial cost to the state: Hawaii gets about $2,600 less per person each year.

“Census data is what we all depend on, non-profits organizations, state agencies, we depend on that data to drive our decision-making to ensure that our voices are counted. It’s super critical to funding the work that we do,” Joe Kuhio Lewis, CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement said.

Census day is April 1, 2020 and questionnaires will still be mailed to all households in March. It will also be available on the census website here.