Residents in the Pipestone area should begin receiving their U.S. Census questionnaires by mail around mid-March.
More than 130 million addresses throughout the nation will receive the census form this month, either by mail or in person from a census worker. The Census, conducted every 10 years, counts everyone living in the United States: in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
In the last Census, one in six households received a long questionnaire asking for detailed socio-economic information. In 2010, every resident will receive a short questionnaire that asks four general questions about the household and six questions about each individual in the household, including name, sex, age, date of birth and race.
“It’s a very short questionnaire,” said Martha McMurry, a research analyst at the U.S. Census Bureau Minnesota Demographic Office in St. Paul. “You can fill it out in a few minutes.”
The U.S. Constitution mandates the census, but it also determines representation in the U.S. Congress and allocation of federal and state funding for roads, hospitals, schools and other projects.
“It’s very important for any kind of spending based on population,” McMurry said. “You lose out on that money for the next 10 years for every person not counted.”
The data is also used to apportion seats for the U.S. House of Representatives. Currently, Minnesota sits on the threshold of losing one of its eight Congressional seats so McMurry said it’s important that Minnesota’s snowbirds be counted.
“That’s a big issue in the 2010 census,” McMurry said. “Just a couple thousand (people) could make a difference.”
The Census Bureau will provide the 2010 apportionment counts to the President by Dec. 31, 2010, which includes the total population counts and the number of representatives for each state.
Those who can’t be reached at a physical address by mail will receive a hand-delivered questionnaire from a U.S. Census Bureau worker. This includes people who typically receive their mail through post office boxes.
“They want to locate everybody spatially, where they live, not where they pick up the mail,” McMurry said.
Pipestone U.S. Postmaster Richard Visker has gone through two censuses in Pipestone.
“They’ve gone from a manual to an automated process over the years,” Visker said. “This year it’s the most automated with the IMB, which stands for ‘intelligent mail barcoding.’ It’s a special bar code that will designate exactly where the piece is to go and how it is to return.”
The census will add to the post office’s volume, but Visker isn’t expecting a backlog with the advanced automation, which should make the process relatively simply for Pipestone’s seven mail carriers (three have city routes, four the rural routes).
“A good portion of the letter mail comes in presorted; we won’t even have to sort,” Visker said.
The U.S. Census Bureau has, “the cleanest, best addressing available,” and Visker isn’t expecting a high percentage of undeliverables in the area.
“Apartments are the hardest to work with because people move a lot,” he said. “But if there’s a resident at an apartment, we’ll deliver it.”
The Census Bureau does not release or share information that identifies individual respondents or their household for 72 years. Census Bureau workers must take oaths for life to protect the confidentiality of census responses — violation can result in a jail term of up to five years and/or a $250,000 fine.
Be counted — not conned
Census questionnaires are delivered by mail. However, if a person doesn’t return their census or if they don’t receive regular mail at their address, they will receive a visit from a U.S. Census worker.
How do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? The Better Business Bureau offers the following advice:
•If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.
•The Census Bureau will not ask for your Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations. Any one asking for that information is not with the Census Bureau.
•Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail or in person at home. However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by e-mail — so be on the lookout for e-mail scams impersonating the Census, i.e. never click on a link or open any attachments in an e-mail that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.
