Census
A census is a survey of a large group of citizens.
2009 Census
Occasionally in Talossan history, laws have been passed to require a census be taken of Talossans. The first such act was The Domesday Act, which required the Chancery to discover "information about the demographics of our country including age, sex, how they found out about Talossa originally, their level of involvement and amount of activity in Talossa," and which requested this be done immediately. The idea of a census was contentious, and The Domesday Act only passed on its second try. Concerns about the usefulness of a census, and worries about privacy, dominated the discussion.
The census itself was conducted in 2009/XXX[1], after prolonged discussion of the contents.[2] This National Census 2009 surveyed forty citizens of the nation, and revealed a surprisingly diverse group of individuals.
2016 Census
After the 2009 Census, discussions were held about further censuses, but the Census Act (42RZ9) failed, and the Census Enabling and 3X Disabling Act was drafted in 2012 but never brought to a vote.
However, the general landscape changed when the so-called "Three Strikes Law", a section of the Organic Law revoking citizenship from Talossans who failed to vote in a General Election three times in a row, was repealed in 2014 and replaced by a provision to instead remove all Talossans who failed to vote or answer a Census in the last two years. This reform substantially changed the nature of censuses, so the National Census Act was passed by the Ziu in 2015 to provide a legal basis for any future Census once and for all.
The centre-right coalition that took office in 2016 pledged to swiftly conduct a new Census, a project that was dubbed "Domesday 2" by Chief of Staff Alexandreu Davinescu. The second Census was therefore held during the month of June 2016, with more than double the number of surveyed citizens in respect to the 2009 Census.
Before the 2016 Census, however, several historic Talossans were struck from the rolls as a result of the post-Three Strikes citizenship law; with no Census having been conducted and no Royal Pardons issued, all citizens who hadn't voted since 2014 were expelled. This included:
- The second citizen of Talossa, former Prime Minister and Justice, Count Danihel Laurieir;
- Former Conservative Loyalist Prime Minister and Justice, Baron Fritz von Buchholtz;
- Former Prime Minister Sir Samuhel Tecladeir;
- The Regent for King Louis, Gregory Rajala;
- Former Immigration Minister Corrine De Winter;
- Former Scribe of Abbavilla and Progressive MC Dréu Gavárþic'h.
2019 Census
As a response to inconsistencies in the National Database, particularly regarding contact information for each citizen, calls for a new Census were made as early as the subsequent October 2017 General Election was over. However, no Census would take place in 2017, and a Prime Dictate by then-Prime Minister Lüc da Schir, calling for a third Census in March 2018, ultimately fell flat due to personal issues by the Secretary of State.
With the Chancery changing hands at the end of the 51st Cosa, a third Census would ultimately launch with little fanfare in January 2019, right before the elections to the 52nd Cosa.