The United States counts its citizens every 10 years. This counting of the population is required by the Constitution in Article 1, Section 2 and is used to:
- decide how many representatives your state has in the US House of Representatives (and how many votes in the Electoral College) and how their districts are drawn
- help your community prepare for emergency readiness needs (pretty timely)
- determine how much federal funding your community may receive for schools, roads, and public services (hey, I use all of those things!)
You can fill out the 2020 census
here
. It's one form for each household and is super easy; it just takes a couple of minutes. You were mailed a census ID that the site will ask for, but you can just click "I don't have a census ID" to work around that if you can't find it. Students, this may be something to talk with your head of household about while you're looking for things to do!
FAQs:
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Q:
I heard that there was a question about citizenship status on there. Is that true?
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A: There is no question about citizenship status on the census. It is important for *everyone* in the US (regardless of citizenship status) to be counted for all of the reasons listed above.
-Q: I'm not comfortable answering the question about my family's background with specific information. What do I do?
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A: The first two times you leave it blank and try to move on, it will prompt you to fill it in. After that, it will allow you to leave it blank and move on.
-Q: I go to college away from home. Should I be counted at home or at school?
- A: Fill out your census for wherever you live most of the year, probably your college dorm.
