Knock, knock, Census calling

They won’t be knocking on my door, but they’ll be knocking on a bunch of other ones.

When census enumerators set out this Saturday, they could encounter a range of responses at the 48 million addresses they need to check. People who never seem to be home. People who don’t speak English. People who say they’re too busy. People who swear they mailed in their responses. People who want to know what business is it of the government how many people live in their house, anyway. People who question what will happen to the information that gets collected.

Census workers around the country have spent most the last week getting trained in all the things they need to know to get the job done, from how to deal with people who are reluctant to answer to what to do at homes with guard dogs.

[…]

The Census Bureau tries to encourage as many people as possible to mail in their responses — this year’s response rate was 72 percent, the same as in 2000. That’s because door-to-door canvassing is the most expensive part of the count, as well as the most vulnerable to mistakes.

The more than 600,000 workers who will canvass residents around the country earn between $10 and $25 an hour, working until mid-July.

The rest of the story indicates that this year’s preparations for the door-to-door canvass have been better than in previous years. We’ll see if that translates to a higher participation rate when all is said and done.

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