The Census Bureau will soon launch a massive address canvassing operation to verify and update more than 145 million addresses as it prepares to conduct the 2010 Census.

The address canvassing operation will be conducted out of 151 local census offices across the U.S., including offices in the Seattle, Spokane and Tacoma areas. Nationwide, more than 140,000 census workers will participate in the address canvassing operation, a critically important first step in assuring that every housing unit receives a census questionnaire in March 2010. In Washington state, approximately 4,000 people will carry out the address canvassing operation.

The countdown to the 2010 Census is officially one year out on April 1.

“The 2010 Census will be the largest peacetime mobilization in our nation’s history,” Ralph Lee, Seattle Regional Director at the U.S. Census Bureau, said.

The US Constitution requires that everyone living in the United States be counted every 10 years.

Census workers can be identified by the official Census Bureau badge they carry. During the address canvassing operation, census workers may ask to verify a housing structure’s address and whether there are additional living quarters on the property.

2010 Census workers will never ask for bank or social security information. All census information collected, including addresses, are confidential and protected by law. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ answers with the FBI, the IRS, CIA, Welfare, Immigration, or any other government agency. No court of law or law enforcement agency can find out respondents’ answers. All Census Bureau employees – including temporary employees – take an oath for life to keep census information confidential. Any violation of that oath is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and five years in prison.