Stand Up and Be Counted

YOUR Census Form Will Arrive in Your Mailbox Soon.

2010 is a census year for the United States and your census form will be arriving in the mail by mid-March.  The 2010 census form is one of the shortest forms prepares since 1930 – just 10 questions and it should take less that 10 minutes to complete.

Article 1, Section 2, of the Constitution of the United States requires that once a decade, every resident in the United States, regardless of citizenship status, shall be counted.  The first census took place in 1790 – enumerating 3,929,000 residents in the United States and its territories, and the most recent census in 2000 – enumerating 281,421,906 residents.

On the most basic level, the census returns will be used to allocate the number of seats in the House of Representatives to each state.  States which experience a significant decline in population may lose a seat in the House.  States with significant growth in population may gain additional representatives.  In addition, many of the Federal dollars allocated to states for specific support programs are based on U.S. Census information.  Hospitals, job training centers, senior centers, public works projects and emergency services are just some of the programs that benefit from census based funding.

Click on the image for the 1940 Public Service Announcement that still holds importance 70 years later.

There will be a postage paid envelope included with the census form.  The completed form should be mailed on or before April 1, 2010.  U.S. Census workers will match each form to the identified residence and mark completed forms.  In mid-April census workers will begin walking in neighborhoods and knocking on doors of residences for which no form was returned.  This door to door work will be completed in July and the full census report must be delivered to the President by December.

What Questions Are Asked on the 2010 Census?

The 2010 census form will arrive in the mail on or about March 15^th.  One form for each residential unit.  Only one form should be completed for each unit, regardless of the familial status of the residents.

Question one asks the number of people living or staying in the residential unit on April 1, 2010.

Question two asks if there are any additional people staying in the home on April 1, 2010 that are not included in the response to question one, and there are a number of suggestions of people who might be unlisted.

Question three asks about the ownership of the residential unit.

Question four asks for a phone number that can be contacted if the census worker who processes the returned form is confused by the answers given.

Question five asks for the full name of the person completing the form.

Question six asks for the gender of the person completing the form.

Question seven asks for the age and birth date of the person completing the form.

Question eight asks if the person completing the form is Hispanic, and offers a number of categories of possible Hispanic origin.

Question nine asks for the race of the person completing the form with options for multiple racial response.

Question ten asks if the person completing the form has alternative addresses.

Then questions five through ten are repeated for each additional person living in the residence.

Five Things YOU Can Do to Help with the 2010 Census

1. Watch for the census form to arrive at your residence and work will your family or room mates to complete the census form and mail on or before April 1, 2010.
2. Visit the census website to become more informed about the census process and the need for a complete count of our community.
3. Bring the census information you have into conversations with friends and neighbors – increasing public awareness of the process.
4. Contact the local complete count committee through email : DavisCounts2010.gmail.com with your suggestions of how citizens can be better informed about the census.
5. Visit the Census 2010 booth at Davis Farmers Market on Saturday, March 13 to pick up additional census information and receive great gifts.