Because residents completed the 2020 U.S. Census just last year, Town Clerk Michele Bissonnette is a little worried people in Wareham might be confused about this year’s town census.

“The federal census, that’s every 10 years,” Bissonnette said. “That is run by the federal government and it’s totally different than ours.”

She explained that the town census is performed to fulfill the Massachusetts state legislature’s mandate that local governments count their residents. For that reason, Wareham — along with other Massachusetts towns — sends out yearly town census forms, Bissonnette said.

The town census forms require each household to provide information about the people who live there, including things like age, voter information and occupation.

The forms are due back 10 days after they’re received — but if that deadline was missed, Bissonnette encouraged residents to return them by the end of February.

She said there are a number of reasons it is important to fill out and return those forms.

“It’s [...] especially important for families,” Bissonnette said. “Because if you don’t put your children on the census they could have trouble getting into the school system or whatever because they have to be residents of Wareham.”

She noted that to qualify for opportunities with strict location-based eligibility criteria — for example, attending Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School — it is imperative that a student be included on a town census form and marked as a Wareham resident.

Beyond that, Bissonnette said it was important that the town have an accurate count of residents — not just voters, but also those too young to vote.

“The state does give us certain monies depending on what our [...] population is,” she said. “If we have a large population of elderly [people] or children, that coincides with how much money that we can get.” 

It is important to note that failure to return the town census can result in a voter being put on the “inactive” list, Bissonnette said. 

She also emphasized that voters cannot change their party affiliation simply by checking a box on the town census forms. To change party affiliation, a person needs to fill out a different form or write a letter to the town clerk.