Entries from March 2010
by Terri Ann Lowenthal
Census Day is two days away! As in April 1, 2010, the reference date for the nation’s official decennial portrait. I’m so excited, I can hardly sleep!
Okay, time to get serious. People, we need to focus. As of yesterday, the national participation rate was 46 percent; we’re almost halfway there! Naturally, some small towns in the Midwest and Plains States (e.g. the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska) jumped out of the gate early and are in the coveted “Top 50″ of the Take 10 Challenge, posting return rates in the 70s, 80s, and higher. Show-offs! Not hard to do when your population is in the hundreds.
But you gotta hand it to these census over-achievers: They heeded the constitutional call and are well on their way to earning the political and monetary spoils that flow to the civically-minded.
The rest of you: What’s your excuse? Didn’t get a form? Misplaced it? Here’s what you do (take your pick):
- Wait until early April to see if you receive a replacement form. Not everyone will, but if you are in a neighborhood that had a low mail-back rate in 2000, you might.
- Pick up a Be Counted form, a slightly modified questionnaire that will ask for your address (since there’s no bar code to tie the form to your home). Go to www.2010census.gov, click on Be Counted sites in the “Need Help with Your Form?” box, click on “Find a Questionnaire Assistance Center” near the map, and enter your ZIP code to find locations near you.
- After April 11, you can give your responses over the phone without providing the unique code on the form you misplaced or didn’t receive. Call 1-866-872-6868 for help in English (visit the 2010 Census Web site for toll-free help lines in other languages).
Are there glitches with the enumeration? Are Republicans mad about the health care reform bill? Folks, the Census Bureau is trying to count roughly 310 million people and put them in a specific spot on the map. There are bound to be problems in a venture this massive and complex.
Friends and strangers have been in touch to report various problems: Be Counted sites without forms, mailing addresses with incorrect cities, confusion over how to respond without a form in hand. I could blog around the clock about problems affecting this person, that block, even entire ZIP codes, all to chastise the Census Bureau for its alleged ineptitude.
But I won’t. There are attention-grabbing ways to report the hitches, and there are responsible ways to resolve them in real time. I’m taking the latter approach, contacting census officials to report difficulties in the field or confusion among would-be respondents, and suggesting (when appropriate) possible fixes.
There will be plenty of time for more thorough evaluation of what worked well and what went wrong. That’s the role of Congress and its auditors and external stakeholders. Critics can snicker all they want at the inevitable bumps in the road; trust me, few of them have bothered to learn much about the process and none of them were around for the past nine years as the Census Bureau painstakingly worked (sometimes with disappointing results) to put the whole operation together.
Right now, it’s time for a singular focus: To paraphrase a well-known slogan from a winning presidential campaign, “It’s the count, stupid.” Just do it.
Categories: Complete Count
Tagged: 2010 Decennial, Census Bureau, Terri Ann Lowenthal, Complete Count, census, Congressional Oversight, Census Day, Constitution, NRFU, Census Operations, mail response
by Phil Sparks
Recently the U.S. House of Representatives passed by voice vote with little opposition the Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act. For Congress, the passage of this proposed legislation was accomplished in lightening speed. The bill was only introduced as proposed legislation weeks before its approval by the House. Now the proposed legislation goes to the Senate for further action and, hopefully, passage as quickly as possible.
The bill even had two Republican co-sponsors who have been critics of some aspects of Census 2010 – Rep. Darrell Issa (California) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah). Previously (Feb. 2, 2010), I warned that the National Republican Committee and its chair Michael Steele had sent out hundreds of thousands of look-alike “census” materials called the Congressional District Census. The scam letters were really a well-coordinated fundraising appeal by the GOP. The news site Talking Points Memo noted that the Republican mailings were “clearly designed to mislead recipients into thinking that it’s an official Census Bureau survey, which people are required by law to fill out.”
If the Senate quickly passes the bill and it is signed into law by President Obama, this new legislation will make it against the law to design and mail such material to the American public. All in all, the House’s quick approval of the legislation represents a bipartisan slap in the face of the RNC and its chairman. The GOP was acting like a scam artist. They were sinking to a low level to raise funds for GOP candidates. In the process the Republicans were muddying the waters for the real Census 2010 forms, which are now in the mail and being received by more than 130 million households.
It is rare that Congress acts in such a swift and bipartisan way to address a problem. Now it is up to the Senate to pass the bill as quickly as possible. After all, the massive job of taking Census 2010 has now begun. The last thing the decennial census needs now are political parties and professional scammers jumping on the census bandwagon for their own motives.
Categories: Congressional Oversight
Tagged: 2010 Decennial, census, Census & Politics, Census Operations, challenges, Congress, Congressional Oversight, mail response, NRFU, Phil Sparks
by Terri Ann Lowenthal
On Wednesday, Hispanic leaders gathered in Washington to highlight the importance of being counted in the 2010 census. Members of Congress and the census director joined them in beating the drum of civic engagement and responsibility. Meanwhile, 3,000 or so miles away in Arizona, members of the Prescott city council pressured the town into taking down a census promotion sign, strung across a downtown thoroughfare, because the message was in Spanish.
Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, a primary organizer of the ya es hora. HAGASE CONTAR! campaign to promote the census among Latinos, urged Prescott Mayor Marlin Kuykendall to “reject expressions of intolerance” and “do all in your power and authority” to encourage a full count of the city’s residents. To his credit, the mayor called Mr. Vargas immediately upon receiving the letter and promised to work in support of an inclusive enumeration.
What’s going on here? Prescott Councilman John Hanna made his intentions clear: “If you’re here in the U.S. and can’t speak English, you need to go home,” he told the local newspaper (The Daily Courier, 3/10/10), adding that counting language scofflaws wasn’t worth the federal dollars that flowed to his community based on census numbers. Others are more circumspect, but it’s not hard to read between the lines. Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin thinks the entire exercise is a plot by the Obama Administration to boost Democratic representation by counting more minorities (never mind that 90 percent of the census was designed during the Bush Administration).
The nonsense doesn’t end there. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), the only “no” vote on a resolution (H.Res. 1096) encouraging census participation, explained in an op-ed that the decennial count “has grown far beyond what the framers of our Constitution intended.” There’s a “Public Servant’s Questionnaire” making its way around the internet; self-described “limited government” types can use it to make life difficult for census takers who knock on their doors (after said protesters refuse to mail back their forms).
With all due respect, folks, do your homework before you pontificate. The first census in 1790 covered six topics, most proposed by Founding Father James Madison (then a Representative from Virginia) — the same number of topics in the 2010 census. Rep. Paul — channeling Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Fox talk show host Glenn Beck — questioned the constitutionality of asking for any information beyond the number of people in each household. Read the Constitution again, sir. I believe it says the census will be conducted “in such Manner as [Congress] shall by Law direct.” That means Congress can pass laws to request additional information (as long as the data are not collected for an otherwise unconstitutional purpose). Courts (those arbiters of constitutional intent) have consistently upheld the content of the census. Don’t like the Voting Rights Act (for which census data on race and Hispanic origin are needed)? Don’t support funding for senior centers (for which data on age are collected)? Take a good legislative shot at them (that’s why you are elected to Congress), but don’t undermine full participation in the census based on a constitutional interpretation made up out of whole cloth, just because it dovetails with your world view.
But I sense a crosswind blowing that could throw sand back in the faces of those who are doing their darnedest to undermine the Census Bureau’s efforts. For example, Center for Immigration Studies director Mike Krikorian has decided that the census questions on race and ethnicity are “clearly illegitimate” and “none of the government’s business.” He’s telling his audience to check “Some other race” and write-in “American.”
Well, that’s really smart. Let’s stipulate that people of color, and immigrants in particular, are not fans of the anti-immigration Center or its head honcho and will proudly check off their race and Hispanic origin status, while Mr. Krikorian’s mostly non-Hispanic White acolytes will get thrown into the catch-all “other” category, reducing the proportion of the population reported as White when the Census Bureau publishes the results. (Ironically, since Census number-crunchers try to reassign “Some other race” responses to one of the five major race categories for administration of civil rights laws, and will “impute” missing responses if necessary, some of these protesters might just end up being counted as persons of color, depending on the algorithm used. I’m trying to keep a straight face.)
And speaking of irony, some lawmakers continue to throw darts at the “advance letter” and “reminder card” and census ads. You don’t need a marketing degree to grasp that most people need multiple nudges to pay attention to something as obscure as the census. (I may be dreaming, but don’t these same politicians run endless TV ads and mail nonstop brochures reminding us to go to the polls on Election Day?) For each one percent of households that returns a census form by mail, the Census Bureau saves $85 million. Boost the mail-back rate by 12 percent and return a billion dollars to the Treasury. (But what’s $1 billion when you can lob insults, however uninformed, at the government?)
Rising above this cynical cacophony are civic and faith leaders in minority and poor neighborhoods, immigrant enclaves, and other historically undercounted communities, spreading a message of encouragement and using positive reinforcement: Make yourself count! The simple phrase conveys hope and empowerment for people who often have to fight for their fair share of resources and political influence in our society.
The contrast couldn’t be starker. But the critics might be in for an unwelcome surprise: They are shaking confidence in the census and turning people against the process — just not the ones they wish weren’t counted or weren’t here. A Zogby International poll last week showed that 95 percent of Democrats intended to participate in the census, compared to only 80 percent of Republicans. You reap what you sow. Instead of issuing a call to action for census participation, the House Republican leadership is sending fundraising appeals in the guise of faux census surveys.
When the numbers are tallied, they just might show that our historical understanding of “hard to count” people was flipped on its head. And the communities that turned their backs on the nation’s most fundamental civic activity will have to live with the loss of resources, business investment and political influence until the next count rolls around.
Categories: Complete Count · Politics & Census 2010
Tagged: 2010 Decennial, Advertising, Census Bureau, Questionnaire, Terri Ann Lowenthal, Public Opinion, challenges, Census questions, Outreach, Complete Count, polling, census, privacy, Census & Politics, Congress, Constitution, census boycott, NALEO, undercount, Latinos & the Census, Census Operations, 10 Question
by Terri Ann Lowenthal
Hello, census fans.
It seems like we have been waiting forever for this day! (What? You don’t spend the entire decade fretting over the next decennial census?)
Yes, that’s me, holding my own personal (genuine, made in the USA) Census 2010 questionnaire. Okay, the form doesn’t really belong to me (because it doesn’t have my name on it); it belongs to my “household.”
And, no, I am not going to tell you how many people live in my home or (heaven forbid) how old I am, because that personal information is strictly confidential under Title 13, United States Code, §§8, 9 & 214. My answers will go in the Census Bureau lockbox for 72 years; all you get to know – some time in 2011 – is the demographic vibe of the neighborhood in which I live.
Anyway, as requested, I am putting down my phone number — which Census Director Robert Groves promised gets tossed after my questionnaire is checked-in by those high-tech machines (processing nearly 80,000 forms per hour, 24/7!) because I am filling out my form completely and mailing it back in plenty of time to avoid a follow-up call. (P.S. to you procrastinators: If you send back your form by April 19, you can avoid that knock on the door from a census taker. Mailing it back sooner — by April 1 if you can — will help your city grab bragging rights to a high “participation rate.”)
My name? The Census Bureau actually doesn’t care about that, either. They need it just to make sure I’m not counted twice. (Sorry, alter ego: This is a truly serious constitutional obligation.) And you really do want to include your name because, trust me, your great-great-grandchildren will get a family tree assignment in the fourth grade, and they can impress their teacher by requesting a copy of your 2010 census form to prove who was part of their family way back then.
(Excuse me a minute while I go bug my neighbors to fill out their census forms. I will not be deprived of my share of Connecticut’s $543 million in annual census-driven transportation program funds to fix this winter’s potholes, just because someone else can’t find 10 minutes to mark a few boxes. Oh, and my parents just told me it took them 46 seconds to fill out their form. Maybe I’d better check their work …)
What? That’s it? Hey, those promised 10 questions included my name and phone number, plus a couple of queries to be sure I didn’t forget anyone (how did they know I tend to do that at my age?) or mistakenly include my alter ego. So there’s only, like, five real questions. I feel cheated!
Bring on the American Community Survey!
It’s time. Ya es hora. Make yourself count!
Categories: Census Form
Tagged: 2010 Decennial, Questionnaire, Terri Ann Lowenthal, Census questions, census, privacy, Census Day, Dr. Robert Groves, Constitution, NRFU, 10 Question, mail response
by Peter Wagner
On Census Day, there will be more than 2.3 million people behind bars in this country. That is a population larger than 15 individual states, and larger than the combined populations of our 3 smallest states. Because this population disproportionately consists of African-American and Latino men, critical civil rights issues are at stake in achieving an accurate count in 2010.
The Census Bureau counts people in prison as residents of the correctional facility. It strives to use individual enumeration via census forms wherever possible and, as a last resort, uses administrative records to collect information on inmates.
The controversy comes not from the counting procedures – which the Census does well – but from the rules that govern where prisoners are counted. Many state constitutions declare that incarcerated people remain residents of their pre-incarceration addresses. (In fact, these same prisoners are either denied the right to vote or are required to vote absentee in their home districts.) Because census numbers are used to allocate political representation within counties and states, drawing districts as if these individuals lived in the prison town skews democracy.
Seven states are considering legislation that would adjust census population figures for the state’s internal redistricting. For example, some states plan to collect the home addresses of incarcerated people, while others are considering a requirement that districts not include prisons in their population base. More than 100 counties adopted this latter approach after the 2000 Census.
In decades past, counties that wanted to make such an adjustment were on their own. The Census Bureau published prison count data far too late to be of help to those drawing districts. But the Census Bureau recently announced that it will publish Group Quarters data (which includes prison counts) early, in May 2011. This information will make it easier for states and counties to redistrict according to their own standards.
Despite press reports to the contrary, the Census Bureau won’t be counting prisoners at their pre-incarceration addresses, and earlier-than-usual release of Group Quarters population data will not affect federal or state funding formulas. All the Census Bureau is doing is making it easier for data users to identify group facilities – like prisons — within the redistricting data.
And by publishing numbers for prisons in Spring 2011, instead of in late summer, the Census Bureau simply has given states the tools to decide for themselves how best to ensure equal representation for their citizens.
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Peter Wagner is executive director of the Prison Policy Initiative, a non-partisan organization that documents the impact of mass incarceration on individuals, communities and the national welfare. Mr. Wagner can be reached at pwagner [AT] prisonpolicy.org. For more information how prison counts influence the democratic process, please visit the organization’s website: http://www.prisonersofthecensus.org.
Categories: Complete Count · Politics & Census 2010
Tagged: 2010 Decennial, Census Bureau, challenges, Complete Count, census, Census & Politics, Census Day, Constitution, Latinos & the Census, Census Operations, Blacks & the Census, prisons, redistricting, states, Peter Wagner, prisons & the census
by Terri Ann Lowenthal
“The decennial census is a shared national undertaking. [It] will soon be up to the public to fulfill its civic responsibility to return the questionnaires in a timely fashion.” (Robert Goldenkoff, director of strategic issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office, in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives, 2/22/10.)
It’s March and the 2010 census is starting in earnest. (Hats off, though, to the Native Alaskans who set a good example by cooperating with census takers before heading out of their villages for seasonal hunting and fishing.)
Census workers are fanning out across rural areas and other communities (such as areas recovering from natural disasters and some urban high rises without individual mail boxes) where direct mail service is spotty or nonexistent. As we learned last week in Census 101, this is the Update/Leave operation: Enumerators update the address list and census maps as they hand deliver census forms to each housing unit. The 12 million households in this universe, covering roughly nine percent of the population, should fill out and mail back their questionnaires as soon as possible, to get the “participation rate” ball rolling.
Everyone else, be patient! Most of you will get a letter next week signed by Census Director Robert Groves himself, followed by the questionnaire a week later. And then … well, let me quote the man of the hour (that would be Dr. Groves): “Our biggest risk is the uncertainty presented by the American public’s response to the census. We really need your help in encouraging and motivating everyone … to participate.” (Testimony (PDF) before the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security, 2/23/10)
People, let me put this in plain English. It’s time to step up to the plate and do what the Constitution envisions and the law requires: Answer those silly ten questions, seal the envelope, and mail it off. You’re done for another decade.
And the ever-growing list of cynics? Well, let’s review the latest: Andy Rooney, as usual, didn’t do his homework before raising doubts about why the census asks for certain information, like your telephone number. (There goes the historic tendency to overcount older Americans.) Citizens Against Government Waste awarded “Porker of the Month” honors to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Dr. Groves for “fail[ing] to oversee and control [the cost] of the census,” even though they took office at the tail end of a decade-long planning process. (Now the Census Bureau has to spend millions in targeted promotion to conservatives, to overcome this sort of uninformed nonsense.) Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) lamented the Super Bowl ad’s failure to speak to harder-to-count minorities. (Disapproval makes strange bedfellows, and that ad most certainly wasn’t part of the targeted campaign.)
But here’s the thing: There will be a census no matter who threatens to boycott and who rails against perceived government overreaching (what’s up with all the pseudo-constitutional scholars who fancy themselves as the “true” Americans?) and who criticizes the communications campaign for spending too much or not spending enough (depending on your perspective). And the outcome will determine who gets their fair share of political influence and economic resources for the next ten years, whether you like it or not.
There may be plenty to second-guess in an activity this large and complex, and there are things I wish the Census Bureau had done better or differently. But as Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), chairman of the oversight subcommittee, said at a hearing last week, “Problems are to be expected.” What’s “vitally important,” he said, is that “we do the necessary hard work now.” That means it’s time for everyone to stand up and be counted.
Categories: Census Operations · Census Outreach Efforts
Tagged: 2010 Decennial, Advertising, Census Bureau, Commerce Department, Questionnaire, Terri Ann Lowenthal, Public Opinion, challenges, Partnerships, Census questions, Outreach, Complete Count, census, Census & Politics, Census & Media, Congress, Congressional Oversight, Census Day, Dr. Robert Groves, Constitution, census boycott, undercount, Census Operations
