RELEASE: Imitation Census Survey Reported in Cascade County

Montana Department of Commerce sent this bulletin at 02/14/2020 02:09 PM MST
montana department of commerce
Cascade County Census Spoof

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 14, 2020

Contact:

Emilie Ritter Saunders | esaunders@mt.gov | 406.841.2557
Cassidy Blanton | cassidy.blanton@mt.gov | 406.841.2543

Imitation Census Survey Reported in Cascade County

Reminder: Official U.S. Census Bureau surveys don’t cost money to complete, are not mailed by political groups

HELENA, Mont. – The Montana Department of Commerce is reminding Montanans that official U.S. Census Bureau surveys will never ask respondents for money, credit card numbers or social security numbers and questionnaires will always be postmarked from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau.

This reminder comes on the heels of another Census look-a-like survey being mailed to Montana residents, this time in Cascade County. The survey is called the “2020 Congressional District Census” and was mailed by the Republican National Committee. In addition, it asks respondents to pay, at minimum, $15 for processing the “Census Document.” In May and September of 2019, the same Census look-a-like mailers were sent to people in Gallatin, Lewis and Clark, Jefferson and Missoula counties.

In October, Governor Steve Bullock called on the RNC to halt sending the deceptive surveys. Just this week in Congress, members of the House Oversight Committee asked the U.S. Census Bureau to get involved and requested the spoofed mailers be stopped. Congress has taken steps to prevent Census look-a-like mailings. For example, in 2010, the Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act became law.

The 2020 Census count will begin next month. Official documents for the decennial Census will be mailed or left on doors of every household in Montana beginning mid-March.

A complete count of Montanans is critical because it determines the state’s share of federal funding for the next decade, it shapes local voting districts and it determines whether Montana will get another representative in Congress.

It’s estimated Montana receives $2 billion in federal funds each year as a result of the official Census. For every Montana resident not counted the state stands to lose $20,000 over the next decade for things like healthcare, housing, highways, schools, and student loan programs.  

Learn more about the Census and why it matters to Montana at CENSUS.MT.GOV.

-30-