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Exactly how many people live in Montana?

That question must be answered next year. It's important that all of us be counted in the constitutionally mandated decennial census of the United States. In past censuses, some folks have been hard to count nationwide — people living in rural areas, minorities and people who have post office boxes, but not street addresses. In the 2020 Census, having dependable internet and phone access will be more important than ever.

Census Day is April 1, 2020. In March, the U.S. Census Bureau will mail information to every household with a street address, instructing them how to participate in the census by answering a few questions online or by telephone. People who don't have a physical address or whose address is a post office box won't get that mailing.

Households that don't respond by completing the census survey online or by phone are supposed to get a home visit from a Census Bureau worker. Those personal visits are more expensive for taxpayers, so the tightly budgeted 2020 Census aims to have as many people as possible use the online survey.

The personal visits don't always succeed. For one thing, if rural residents don't have a street address, the census taker may not be able to find them. If a stranger from the U.S. government knocks, not everyone will open the door.