Angelika There is no citizen registration requirement in the USA, so in practice, the government has no idea who lives where. However, it is quite important to know how many residents live in a particular region or state, because government funds are often distributed proportionally to population density. This is why every ten years, the state counts its sheep (Rundbrief 05/2000). This year, too, and I dutifully filled out the questionnaire and sent it back immediately. A few days later, a reminder card even arrived for those who were late in filling it out.
A big fuss is really being made about the census here, because many people do not send back the questionnaires, either because they are not legally in the country or are otherwise afraid of being discovered. The authorities always assure that they use the data only for statistical purposes.
Many immigrants do not understand what it is about, partly due to a lack of English skills. Since May, the Census Bureau (US Census Bureau) has been sending their servants door-to-door to help households fill out the questionnaires, so that the bureau can achieve an accurate count. The agency even invested 2.5 million dollars for a 30-second long TV ad for the Super Bowl broadcast in February. For our foreign readers, the Super Bowl is the final of the American professional football league and is considered the sporting event with the highest viewership of the year. Curiously, viewers not only watch the game with interest but also the commercials. Due to the high viewership, companies are eager to show commercials during the game breaks, even though they have to pay exorbitant amounts for the privilege. And, on the Chinese channel, the census ad even was provided in Chinese for those residents who don't speak English: Chinese version.
By the way, the ten-year cycle of the census is actually mandated by the American Constitution. It involves counting all residents living in the USA, both American and non-American citizens (legal and illegal alike). This practice is, of course, not without controversy, because the results of the census determine how many representatives each state can send to the House of Representatives and how many electors the state has to elect the President of the United States. Indirectly, therefore, non-voters have a not insignificant political influence. We also belong to this group, as only American citizens are allowed to vote in the USA.
Greetings from San Francisco in May:
Angelika & Michael