What is This Census?

Every decade, there are a myriad of TV ads reminding us to complete our U.S. Census questionnaire. They try to compel us to do our duty and lightly describe why it's important. I decided to do a deep-dive research as to why it's needed and how the census is taken. Here's what I found. By the way, bottom line, it is required and we could be fined for not complying.

Why Do We Conduct a Census?

Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution specified that the House of Representatives be elected from members from each congressional district and, then, described how the congressional districts are divided among the states using the Census count. It states "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States...according to their respective Numbers..." which will be determined by "counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other persons."

How Do We Count the Population?

When the Constitution was being constructed, there was debate on how to count a state's population, particularly whether slaves would be counted for purposes of both representation and taxation. It was argued that, if slaves were to be considered property, they should not be counted at all. If they were to be considered persons, they should be counted fully -- just as women, children and others who could not vote would be counted. Ironically, Southern slave-owners, who considered slaves their property, wanted slaves to be fully counted so they had more political power in Congress. After a long debate, the framers agreed to the three-fifths compromise: three-fifths of the total number of slaves would be included in the population count. (Notice the term "slaves" was not used in the Constitution.) After the Civil War, the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment (which abolished slavery) and the Fourteenth Amendment (which specifically repealed the three-fifths rule) changed the Census formula.

The Census figures are based on actual counts of persons dwelling in residential structures or their "usual residence" (where a person lives and sleeps most of the time). They include citizens, non-citizen legal residents, non-citizen long-term visitors and illegal immigrants.

Americans living overseas who are “Federal employees (military and civilian) and their dependents living overseas with them” are counted, also. Private American citizens who are living abroad but are not affiliated with the Federal government (either as employees or their dependents) are not included in the overseas counts, even though they may vote. These overseas counts can only be used for reapportioning seats in the House of Representatives.

What Does the Census Collect?

Throughout the years, the Census questionnaire has been modified to collect additional data -- not just counting heads -- on many attributes of a population (such as education, age group, sex) to help understand trends. This data is now commonly used for research, marketing and planning (housing, business, education, traffic and agriculture). Also, they are used as a baseline for designing sample surveys -- specifically, to adjust the survey size to be representative of a population.

The first six Censuses from 1790-1840 recorded only the names of the Heads of Households and a general accounting of the remaining members of the household. Beginning in 1850, all members of the household were named. The first slaves schedules were, also, completed in 1850. The second, and last, was completed in 1860.

In the late 19th century, Censuses included agricultural and industrial schedules (quantity and value of products) to gauge the nation's productivity. In 1850, the Census included questions on social issues such as churches, poverty and crime. Mortality information, also, were collected to determine life spans and causes of death throughout the country.

Is Census Data Confidential?

By law, no one (census takers, Census Bureau employee, etc.) is permitted to reveal identifiable information about any person, household, or business. The individual census records are sealed for 72 years (to represent the average female life expectancy since women normally live longer than men). Aggregate Census data and trends are released when available.

Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt , the FBI compiled the Custodial Detention Index (CDI) on citizens, enemy aliens and foreign nationals who might be dangerous, using the census records. The Second War Powers Act of 1951 repealed the legal protection of confidential census data, following the Pearl Harbor attack, to identify and intern Japanese-Americans. Also, following United States' entry into World War II, this data was used to identify and intern Italian- and German-Americans. The legal protection of confidential census data was restored in 1947.

In 1950, President Harry Truman and his family temporarily moved out of the White House while it was being renovated. The Secret Service, attempting to find a safe neighborhood for the Truman family, asked to use Census information on potential neighbors. The request was refused and the Trumans moved to the Blair House.

In 1980, four FBI agents went to the Census Bureau's Colorado Springs office with warrants to seize Census documents for an investigation. The Census employee called his chief who called the FBI Director. They both agreed that the documents would not be seized.

Courts have upheld that no agency, including the FBI and Secret Service, has access to Census data.

So What are the Controversies?

"Usual Residence"

Usual residence is defined as the place where a person lives and sleeps most of the time. The Census Bureau tries to count people without conventional housing, If the census takers are unsure of the number of residents at an address, its population characteristics are inferred from its nearest similar neighbor. Also, counts of the homeless population are taken at one time so the population movement is somewhat mitigated. These counts are not considered to be as accurate as the information collected from conventional housing surveys. The Democrats argue that these inferences provide accurate counts of populations that are difficult to track. Republicans argue against sampling techniques, stating that the Constitutions requires an actual counting for apportionment of House seats and that political appointees would be tempted to manipulate the sampling formulas. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the inference practice is constitutional (Utah v. Evans).

Disadvantaged Minority Count

There were growing concerns about census undercounts because the Census Bureau itself had shown its counts were least complete for disadvantaged minority groups. In 1970, it was estimated that over six percent of African Americans went uncounted, whereas only around two percent of European Americans went uncounted. For this reason, several cities with large minority populations demanded that the 1980 count be adjusted for estimated undercounts. Several lawsuits later, the Supreme Court ruled that the Census Bureau had acted property by not adjusting the count.

New York City (also joined by Los Angeles, Chicago, other cities and the NAACP) filed again after the Secretary of Commerce acknowledged that the 1990 Census figures had failed to count 1.6 percent of the population (about 4.8 percent of African Americans and 5.2 percent of Hispanics) but concluded that adjusting the figures to compensate for the undercount would be less accurate. In March 1996, the Supreme Court ruled that the counts were appropriate.

Prisoner Count

The practice of counting prisoners as residents of prisons, rather than using their pre-incarceration address, is argued to skew racial demographics and population numbers. Several states have taken action to end drawing congressional district lines using prison population counts. The Prison Gerrymandering Project is campaigning to include the other states as well. Also, they're recommending that elected leaders pass a resolution to change how the Census Bureau counts prisoners.

LBGTQ Representation

In 2010, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Policy Institute fought to have the census form include a check box for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or straight ally” for statistical purposes. Gay couples were counted; however, single gays were not. To date, the campaign to collect this information in the Census questionnaire has not been successful.

Citizenship Question

Last year, the Department of Commerce announced that it will re-include a citizenship question in the 2020 Census questionnaire (which has not been on the short form since 1950). Proponents argued that this was necessary to gather an accurate statistical count. Opponents, however, felt that the proposed citizenship question was unconstitutional and may intimidate illegal aliens and undocumented workers from responding to the questionnaire, resulting in an inaccurate account on immigrant communities. After an appeal to overturn a New York federal judge's rule against the proposal, the Supreme Court was asked to consider whether the citizenship question was constitutional and whether the Secretary of Commerce followed the law when deciding to add the question. In June 2019, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's stated rationale for including the question. Hence, the 2020 Census questionnaire does not include a question on citizenship.

On July 11, 2019, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Commerce to collect citizenship data from other federal agencies rather than via the U.S. Census.

What Does This All Mean?

If you haven't yet, complete your Census questionnaire. The current Social Distancing order has made it difficult for census takers to follow up on locations that have not completed their Census questionnaire and there are still talks about how -- and when -- this can be accomplished but it is a constitutional requirement so expect that, by the end of the year, something will be done.