Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The U.S. Census Bureau says it is done trying to track down answers from people who didn't send in their Census forms. Instead, they're going to start asking for neighbors to fill in the blanks.
Bob Pope says he is fed up with the visiting Census-takers. He says he filled out his form back in April, and mailed it in, but apparently the government never received it. "This gentleman comes by and asks me to fill out a thing, I said I already filled it out," he said.
Pope says he sent that Census worker away, but got another knock on the door a week later. "She says, 'you know, we can come back 5 or 6 times.' She says, 'I'm going to have to.' I said 'okay.' And she was leaving I said, 'I'll look forward to seeing you next time.'"
After that, he didn't think too much of it, until his neighbor told him someone was looking for him. Census takers were seeking information about Pope, and had left a message on his neighbor's phone.
The Census Bureau calls this the proxy part of the process. They know that if an individual hasn't answered their questions yet, they're probably not going to. Instead, they send Census takers back to neighbors to try and fill in the blanks.
They're within their legal rights to ask, the Census Bureau says, and they're only looking for the answers to the questions on the original Census form. The bureau says they need it in order to get an accurate count, but Pope thinks this proxy process is too much. "It doesn't sit well," he said, "especially when you work in the banking industry and you can't even give out a total to someone's wife that's not on the account. It's bad business as far as I'm concerned."
The Census Bureau expects the proxy process to last roughly another week. If you're approached about a neighbor or fellow tenant and you don't know or don't want to answer, you are free to refuse.
