Q&A of the Day – What’s our obligation for the Census survey?
Each day I’ll feature a listener question that’s been submitted by one of these methods.
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Today’s entry: Brian - What questions on the census questionnaire are we legally obligated to answer? I usually “stretch “the “truth” on any questionnaire. For my own security I rarely use my true age, how many people live in my house, income etc. I guess the census police will come and get me.
Bottom Line: It is true that we have a legal obligation to complete the census and there are two laws that come into play with the scenario you laid out. First up, the Census code. This is addressed in Title 13, Section 221 known as... Census, Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers. Here’s what the law states:
(a) Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of the Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census or survey provided for by subchapters I, II, IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title, applying to himself or to the family to which he belongs or is related, or to the farm or farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall be fined not more than $100.
(b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a) of this section, and under the conditions or circumstances described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is false, shall be fined not more than $500.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no person shall be compelled to disclose information relative to his religious beliefs or to membership in a religious body.
So, we are required under federal law to complete the census with only religious omitting allowed. If busted, for violating the mandate, you may be fined $500 for noncompliance. In your example, which would include not just false information, but deliberately false information, that fine could rise to as much as $5,000 under another law that applies to intentionally falsifying federal documents. Now, there’s a difference between legal obligations and enforcement. Just as the federal government hasn’t enforced federal law to combat states like Florida that have sanctioned marijuana, they haven’t enforced the census law since the 1970 Census. That doesn’t mean they won’t going forward, it’s still the law of the land, but they haven’t for three consecutive census surveys – so the odds are with you should you decide to follow through with your stretched truth.