The 2020 Census may become as important for the community as the presidential elections that will be held that same year.

Because? Because only once every ten years is the total count of people living in the United States carried out, which by constitutional mandate and by law, determines the way in which federal funds are distributed and how electoral districts are drawn. In other words, the funds that go to our communities and our political representation depend on an accurate Census.

Today we open a new occasional series to answer the most frequently asked questions regarding the Census. If you have a doubt or question about it, please write to pilarmarrero700@gmail.com and we will get the answers to your questions from the experts.

Question: What happens if I only answer part of the Census? For example, if the courts allow the citizenship question, what happens if I leave it blank and answer the rest? What if I don't want to give some other details about some members of my family? Are there legal consequences?

We explain, making several important comments.

1. Not responding to the Census in whole or in part is illegal.

In theory, not responding to the Census, in whole or in part, violates federal laws. The US provides for certain punishments - mainly fines - for those who do not answer the Census or provide deliberately false information.

The law (Title 13, Census, Chapter 7, Subchapter II) considers three levels of punishment: failure to answer a question carries a fine of $100. Giving false answers can carry a fine of $500 and giving information to deliberately affect the count can carry a fine of $1000 or up to one year in prison.

2. This is a law that has rarely been enforced in American history, but…

The last criminal charge for non-response in a Census was carried out in 1970, when a dissident publicly announced that he would not respond to the Census, and was fined $50 for it. The activist appealed, indicating that many other people did not answer the Census but did not make a noise about it and no one persecuted them. The courts agreed with him.

“A lawsuit would be unusual, unexpected, and unprecedented,” said Thomas A. Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), who represents his organization on the National Advisory Committee on Race, Ethnicity, and Other Census Populations. “That said, this is the Trump administration, and they are very unpredictable.”

3. Census authorities have said that even if you leave a question blank, the other answers will count.

According to the Census' own internal memos, there is always a percentage of non-response to various survey questions and that does not disqualify the other responses.

Last year, Acting Census Director Ron Jarmin testified before a congressional subcommittee that the Census Bureau “processes many surveys with incomplete responses,” later stating that even if someone leaves citizenship or other questions blank, other responses will still be counted.

Saenz, from MALDEF, states that “we will never advocate or recommend that anyone fail to answer any question.”

4. Does skipping answers increase the chance of a Census worker knocking on your door? Maybe not, but not answering the Census altogether yes.

The common practice in Censuses is to send agency workers to count those who have not completed the initial questionnaires. Will they send someone if only some answers are left blank? It is impossible to know, but Sáenz thinks not.

The Census has announced, however, that other "administrative records" will be used to supplement this information left blank.

“What would warrant a visit from a census taker is not answering the questionnaire at all,” Sáenz said. “I say if you want to avoid a visit, answer as best you can.”

PODCAST

After the storm

A year ago, Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina. The Latino community responded with something stronger than the storm: solidarity. 

🎧 In this episode, learn how Latino organizations transformed crisis into resilience.

▶️Press play to listen!

Republish This Story

Republish our stories for free on your website or newspaper. We follow the Creative Commons license. Click the box and follow the instructions.

close window

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

"This article may be republished for free under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Enlace Latino NC authorizes the reproduction of this content in newspapers and digital platforms, provided that the integrity of the text is maintained and that it is cited Enlace Latino NC and the author of the story to be republished as the primary source. If you publish the story in a digital news outlet or website, you must include a link to our website: www.enlacelatinonc.org

If you wish to make edits to the content to be republished, please contact our editorial team at walter@enlacelatinonc.org to obtain the corresponding permit."

What happens if I leave questions blank or do not participate in the Census?

by Pilar Marrero, Enlace Latino NC
May 27, 2019

Enlace Latino NCMay 27, 2019 The 2020 Census could be as important to the community as the presidential elections that same year. Because? Because only once every ten years is a complete count of the people living in the United States taken, which by constitutional mandate and by law, determines how federal funds are distributed and how electoral districts are drawn. In other words, an accurate Census determines the funding that goes to our communities and our political representation. Today we begin a new occasional series to answer frequently asked questions about the Census. If you have any doubt or question about it, please write to pilarmarrero700@gmail.com and we will get the answers to your questions from the experts. Question: What happens if I only answer part of the Census? For example, if the courts allow the citizenship question, what happens if I leave it blank and answer the rest? What if I don't want to give some other details about some members of my family? Are there legal consequences? We explain, making several important notes. Not responding to all or part of the Census is illegal. In theory, failure to respond to the Census, in whole or in part, violates federal law. The US government provides for certain penalties - mainly fines - for those who do not respond to the Census or who provide deliberately false information. The law (Title 13, Census, Chapter 7, Subchapter II) provides for three levels of punishment: failure to answer a question carries a fine of $100. Giving false answers can result in a $500 fine, and giving information to deliberately affect the count can result in a $1000 fine or up to one year in prison. This is a law that has rarely been applied in the history of the United States, but... The last criminal prosecution for non-response to a Census took place in 1970, when a dissident publicly announced that he would not respond to the Census, and was given a $50 fine for it.  The activist appealed, pointing out that many other people did not answer the Census but did not make a fuss about it and no one persecuted them. The courts ruled in his favor. "A trial would be unusual, unexpected, unprecedented," said Thomas A. Saenz, President of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), who represents his organization on the Census Bureau's National Advisory Committee on Race, Ethnicity and Other Populations.  "That said, this is the Trump administration, and they are very unpredictable." Census officials have said that even if you leave one question blank, the other answers will still be counted. According to the Census' own internal memos, there is always a percentage of non-response to various survey questions, and that does not disqualify the other responses. Last year, acting Census Director Ron Jarmin testified before a congressional subcommittee that the Census Bureau "processes many surveys with incomplete responses," indicating later that even if someone leaves citizenship questions blank, or other questions, other responses will still be counted. Sáenz, from MALDEF , indicates that "we will never defend or recommend that anyone stop answering any question." Does omitting answers increase the likelihood of a Census worker knocking on your door? Maybe not, but not answering the Census altogether, yes. Common practice in censuses is to send agency workers to count those who have not filled out the initial questionnaires. Will someone be sent if only some answers are left blank? It is impossible to know, but Sáenz thinks not. The Census has announced, however, that other "administrative files" will be used to try to supplement the information that is left blank. "What would warrant a visit from a census taker is not answering the questionnaire at all," Sáenz said. "I'm saying that if you want to avoid a visit, answer as best you can." This <a target="_blank" href="https://enlacelatinonc.org/que-pasa-si-dejo-preguntas-en-blanco-o-no-participo-en-el-censo/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://enlacelatinonc.org">Enlace Latino NCand is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: "https://enlacelatinonc.org/que-pasa-si-dejo-preguntas-en-blanco-o-no-participo-en-el-censo/", urlref: window.location.href }); } }

Copy to clipboard

1