They give you either a link where you complete the census online or a physical booklet with all the questions present to collect data from the population. What happens if you continue disregarding the census in the US? When was the last census conducted on the entire country? Even then, is it mandatory to answer the questions for both citizens and tourists alike?
The census is mandatory, as others have noted. It is used for determining how many House seats each state gets, so it is important that it is accurate. And the Supreme Court has interpreted it to mean that an actual count has to be gathered everywhere, and that you can’t use statistical methods to derive the actual count.
So, even if they already have the information by some other means, they still need every household to give an affirmative response to yhe form. And if you ignore the form, they knock on your door to ask. While they may have other questions they want you to answer, you are obligated to tell them how many people live there, and their ages.
Visitors don’t need to be counted, but anyone with legal permission to live here does, regardless of citizenship.
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
they don’t count tourists. Or at least, not foreign tourists. if you live in the US, you’re obligated to be represented on the census in some way- every household is expected to fill it out once, so if you live with your parents, Also you can chose to not answer questions, but they’ll do what they can to fill them in. (including potentially making shit up.)