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The 2010 census
Who gets it? 120 million households
When? Beginning this week
How long? 10 questions, including number of residents, type of housing, race, ethnicity, gender and date of birth
Deadline? If not returned by mid-April, a census taker will come to your door.
Who gets the data? Only the Census Bureau. Federal law prohibits sharing the data with other agencies.
Why does it matter? The data will be used to adjust legislative boundaries and allocate billions in federal funds.
What if you leave an answer blank? The Census Bureau will call to follow up, but the remaining answers will be tabulated.
What if you knowingly provide a false answer? It’s a crime. The penalty is up to $500.
