Confused About Receiving Multiple Census Forms?

Have you received two (or more) 2010 Census Forms in the mail? I did and so did most of the neighborhood. Are we supposed to fill it out again? No, just once … according to Census.gov.

The Census 2010 blog (yes, the Census has a blog) explains that Replacement Forms were sent out to areas that typically have low response rates. While it may seem like a waste, they claim it actually saves money. From their blog post:

“The mailing of a second questionnaire is a polite way to remind them that they have indeed failed to do something they intended to do. … If the completed form is not returned by mail, we will have to send a trained census taker out to visit the household. This costs money that we’d like to avoid spending ($57 per household instead of the $0.42 for return mailing). Hence, starting this week, for areas of the country that have traditionally returned the mailed form at lower rates, we will mail a replacement questionnaire. In other areas, we will not do so.”

Click here to read the full blog post on Census Replacement Forms.

So, make sure you fill out a 2010 Census Form, but no need to fill it out more than once.

Thanks to David Kubiak for sharing this information.

And for some comic relief, here is a clip on what happens if you don’t fill out the census from The Daily Show.