Monday, January 25, 2010

Census Redux

I discussed a few days ago a "census" document I received in the mail from the Republican Party.  Below is how the envelope looked:











Obviously misleading, suggesting that it was a Census document when really it is a mailing to people who have voted in the past for Republican candidates (yes, I have).  The survey itself is pretty much what you'd expect.  Below are small images of the four-page survey.  You can click on any page and see a better, but not great, image. 

In terms of quality -- setting aside the ethically-questionable and legally-tricky matter of posing as a real "census" in a Census year, the survey is okay.  I blogged before about Question 7 and how it collapses media and asks about "Internet Blogs" as if there are blogs other than on the Internet.  There are no questions that strike me as terribly loaded given the source of the survey.  You'd expect this point of view from one party about the other.  And of course the final page includes all the ways I can give money, if I so choose (er, I don't, thank you very much, given six days of furloughs by the State of Georgia).

Is it illegal to pose as a Census document?  Yes.  Does this violate the law?  Nah, probably not.  Sleazy, perhaps, but not illegal.

The entire questionnaire, for your enjoyment:



























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