Elections & terms
census
The constitutionally required count of every person living in the United States, taken every ten years. It drives House seats, electoral votes, and federal funding.
In full
Article I requires an actual enumeration every ten years. The count determines how the 435 House seats are apportioned among the states, and therefore each state's electoral votes, and it is the population base for redistricting. It also steers hundreds of billions in federal funds. The Constitution requires counting all persons, not only citizens or voters.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.