HOUSTON — Census takers will start hitting remote parts of Alaska and Maine in January as the part the 2020 Census.
In March, invitations will begin to go out to households asking communities to take part in the census.
The goal is to make sure every person living in the U.S. is counted.
However, is the U.S. Census Bureau already sending out surveys and are they legitimate?
We’re all used to getting things in the mail and throwing them out because we feel they’re not important, but what about a random document says your response is required by law?
KHOU viewer 11 Ginger Smith got an American Community Survey in the mail which claimed to be from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Smith said she felt comfortable answering the 44-question survey.
“Is it required by law to complete, and if so, what law?” she asked our KHOU 11 Verify team.
We reached out to the Census Bureau which said the American Community Survey is real.
However, unlike the every-10-year census, the ACS is done every year.
The Census Bureau said it randomly picks more than 3.5 million households across the country and Puerto Rico to take part in the survey.
Some questions are standard, but there are others more specific, like, was this person laid off from a job last week?
This 2019 survey also had a citizenship-related question asking about the legal status of everyone in the household.
The Census Bureau said the data collected is used to determine how more than $675 billion of federal funding each year is spent.
Under Title 13 of the United States Code, people who receive the ACS are required by law to answer all the questions.
So we can verify under the law, if you receive an American Community Survey in the mail from the U.S. Census Bureau, you are required to fill it out.
All Census Bureau employees are sworn for life to protect all information collected and the data is not shared with an federal agency or law enforcement entity. If they are caught violating this oath, census takers could face up to five years in prison or a fine up to $250,000.