What if I’m worried about confidentiality?
- The confidentiality of your census information is protected by law through U.S. Code 13 and used for statistical purposes only, never to identify individuals.
- Every U.S. Census Bureau employee takes a life-long oath to keep all provided information confidential. A violation of this law and oath is punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a $250,000.00 fine, or both.
What if I’m worried about citizenship issues?
- Citizenship is not a requirement to complete the census.
- The Department of Justice confirmed the 2020 Decennial Census Questionnaire will not include a citizenship question.
- Every U.S. Census Bureau employee takes a life-long oath to keep all provided information confidential. A violation of this law and oath is punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a $250,000.00 fine, or both. This means that it is against the law for the U.S. Census Bureau or one of their employees to provide details of your census form to any outside entity including your place of employment or landlord.
What are important 2020 Census dates?
- The first available date to complete the 2020 Census is April 1st, 2020. You have until October 31, 2020 to complete your form and be counted in the 2020 Census.
- Door knockers will begin assisting households in Minneapolis with non-response follow-up beginning on August 6, 2020.
What if I don’t know where I’ll be on April 1, 2020?
- If you are in the process of moving, use the address that you are living in on the day of the census (April 1st). If you are traveling, make sure you complete the census when you are home and provide your permanent address. If you live out of the state for part of the year, provide the address of your permanent residence.
Why is the Census important?
- It’s the law. According to the constitution, the census is required to count all residents of the United States and its territories; that means all people living in the United States, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Data from the census is used to determine political representation and federal funding distribution for governments, programs, and services including at the state and local levels.
- It also determines political representation and in 2020, it will determine how many congressional representatives Minnesota will have for the next decade.