With only 22 days remaining before the deadline to be counted in the 2020 Census, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey is strongly encouraging all citizens to participate.

“I’ve said it since our March kick-off, and I will say it again: Alabama stands to lose too much if we do not reach our goal of maximum participation,” the governor said in a statement on Tuesday.

Members of the public can fill out their Census form here.

The population counts made by the Census determine how many seats Alabama gets in the U.S. House of Representatives, how much federal funding the state will receive for things like roads and bridges, and how many electoral college votes the state gets to cast in the presidential election.

Projections done by election data experts show Alabama competing with states like California, New York and Illinois to keep the current size of its U.S. House delegation.

According to information provided by the governor’s office, Alabama is hovering around the same self-response rate as 2010.

As of Tuesday morning, 62.1% of Yellowhammer State households have responded themselves and Census workers have added another 16.4%, for a total response rate of 78.5%.

State leaders have a goal of achieving at least an 80% response rate by the time the Census stops collecting information on September 30.

Alabama Counts, the ADECA program tasked with increasing Census response in the state, created a Census Bowl in recent days that aims to increase interest in low performing counties by offering thousands of dollars in public school funding as an incentive.

“These last few weeks of Census 2020 are vital to our future as our federal representation, our economic development opportunities and our communities — and their citizens — will be impacted negatively unless we have a proper count,” Ivey concluded on Tuesday morning.

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95