Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Louisiana

What is the minimum information that a citizen is required to answer to the census?


Asked on 3/16/10, 12:54 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Adam Lambert The Law Office of Adam S. Lambert

According to federal law, you must answer ALL of the questions on the form completely and truthfully. If you fail to fill out any answers, they will send a census taker to your home to ask you again.

Here's the law:

Title 13

Sec. 221. Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers

(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.

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Answered on 3/29/10, 6:52 am


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