Addresses skewing census Statewide mapping project causing some forms to be sent to nonexistent mailboxes

Billy Wolfe
April 23, 2010

Census workers in West Virginia will make more door-to-door visits this year than officials initially thought because of confusion resulting from the statewide addressing and mapping project. 

The new system was meant to standardize rural addresses by assigning a physical street address to every home in the state. The project is a result of post-Sept. 11, 2001 guidelines requiring better security and emergency response. 

But while the new system assigned an address to every home, it didn't put a mailbox in front of each residence. Many residents who have a new physical street address under the system still get their mail at a post office box. 

But in many cases, the U.S. Census Bureau used those new addresses to mail out census forms. 

That resulted in some census forms being sent to non-existent mailboxes. Postal carriers would then discard those forms as undeliverable mail. 

Those addresses were then listed as "non response," meaning a census worker will have to get the information in person at a later date. 

"What I guess was not fully anticipated was how (the addressing and mapping project) would affect the census," said Anthony Galante, manager of the Charleston census office. 

"There has been some confusion where it looks like we have addresses, but there is no mail delivery," he said. "It's all going to fall into the no response follow-up portion." 

He doesn't know how many people failed to get their census form as a result of the address changes, but said his office has received "a great deal" of complaints from Roane and Wayne counties. 

The confusion might be one reason why West Virginia is lagging behind the national average for mail participation in the 2010 census. 

As of Thursday, West Virginia was showing a 63 percent participation rate for mailing back the forms. The national average was 71 percent. 

All of West Virginia's bordering states were boasting higher mail participation rates than the Mountain State. 

Participation in the census helps determine how more than $400 billion in federal aid is distributed to communities throughout the nation. 

This isn't the first report of confusion resulting from the addressing project. Scores of Elkview residents and others in the state are now confused as to what road they live on after being assigned more than one address. 

In those cases, the U.S. Postal Service lists one address and the Metro 911 system has a different address on file. 

Some Elkview residents have reported having three addresses. Several have complained they are having problems getting their mail. 

Galante said he's confident the final count for West Virginia will be accurate. He said census workers will simply have to do more in-person counting this time around. 

Nate Williams is a Parkersburg resident who had his own problems getting counted. 

Williams and his wife are self-described "snow birds," meaning they migrate like birds to Florida for the colder winter months. But they consider themselves West Virginia residents. 

"It's where everything I own is. My driver's license is here, and my voter registration is here. I only go to Florida to get away from the cold and the snow," he said. 

Williams said he received several census forms at his vacation home, and none at his permanent address in West Virginia. 

He wanted to be counted as a West Virginia resident, but said he had a hard time getting the Census Bureau to send him a form. 

He was finally able to pick up a form at the Wood County Library. But he said the form wasn't labeled with a bar code like the ones he received in Florida. 

Williams believes northern states will be undercounted because of the "snowbird effect." 

Galante said the bureau wants to know where a resident spends most of their time during the year. If a resident splits their time between two states evenly each year, then the bureau wants to know where the resident is living on April 1, Census Day. 

Williams was in Florida on April 1, but said he refuses to fill out a form for that address. 

He talked to several census representatives. He said the workers were professional and kind, but they didn't seem to understand his problem. 

"One asked me why did it matter where I filled out my form, and I told her it matters because it effects how money is given to each district," he said. 

"What she said next stunned me. She said, 'There are counties in West Virginia which have not yet received a single census form this year,' " he said. 

Galante said that's just a rumor, though he's heard it before. He believes it started because of the confusion over the addressing system. 

Whether from the "snow bird effect," discarded census forms or other reasons, Williams believes West Virginia will be undercounted. 

"I am persuaded that as things now stand, West Virginia is going to get the short end of the stick in the Census," he said. "And the time to start complaining is now." 

Phone calls to Josh Knox, Kanawha's addressing and mapping coordinator, were not immediately returned. 

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

West Virginians currently have a 63 percent participation rate for mailing back census forms.