The importance of the U.S. census is hard to overstate.

From a purely political viewpoint, the census determines how many representatives each state gets in the House of Representatives — which influences how many of that state’s projects get approved and funded.

The number of representatives is also used to calculate how many votes each state gets in the Electoral College. The Electoral College is the group who actually decides who gets to be president of the United States, although by and large members are committed to voting the way their respective states did in their general elections. But look to the 2016 election to see how important that voting is.

If the presidency were decided purely by the number of Americans voting for each candidate, Hillary Clinton would be president. She received almost 3 million more votes than Donald Trump. But Trump won with more electoral votes — 304 to 227. 

Trump won more states; Clinton won more populous ones and was close in some of those she lost.

A change in population could shift the number of electoral votes each state receives, and that could change the result of an election.

Closer to home, the census plays a role in how state and federal money is distributed. Businesses make decisions based on census data.

In an economic impact report for the Archway Partnership in Colquitt County, UGA professor Jeff Dorfman — now the state fiscal economist — found that outreach efforts for the 2010 census resulted in a $6,187,500 economic impact here.

Gov. Brian Kemp has named the state’s census campaign, “Every. One. Counts.” That accurately reflects the desire to make sure every person living in Georgia gets counted.

That goes double here, where poverty, immigration concerns and language barriers offer obstacles to a full count.

The census campaign is being led by the local Complete Counts Committee. The CCC will kick off the local count at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 24, on the Colquitt County Courthouse Square. Everyone in the community is invited.

This is a big deal. There’s a lot of money and influence on the line. Colquitt County needs an accurate count.

Whether you attend Friday’s event or not, please be mindful of the census itself and make sure you’re counted.