CHAIR OF HOUSE CENSUS SUBCOMMITTEE QUESTIONS RESULTS FROM IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS The Chair of the House Subcommittee on the Census, Rep. Dan Miller (R-FL), has called for a review and possible recount of the results submitted by 15 local census offices. According to Rep. Miller, the results from these 15 offices were completed so quickly that he suspects at least some of the results were either erroneous or fraudulent.
The 15 offices under fire include many in areas with large immigrant and minority populations, factors that traditionally make the census hard to conduct. Three of the offices are in the Los Angeles area, two in Chicago, and the others in Atlanta, Marion County Indiana, Las Vegas, Newark, New Jersey, New Castle, Delaware, Rapid City, South Dakota, Philadelphia, Florence, Alabama, and Manhattan and Queens in New York City.
According to the Census Bureau, some of these offices were among the fastest in the nation. Miller argues that because these are traditionally areas that are slow to respond, the results are untrustworthy.
The Census Bureau stands by the integrity of the count. The Bureau maintains that it was a strong publicity effort behind the census, especially in areas that have historically been hard to count, that has led to these results. Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt says that Miller does not understand the results.
The dispute centers on the speed with which the follow up part of the census was conducted, in which enumerators contact households that did not respond by mail. Miller argues that internal pressure to complete the census must have led some enumerators to falsify results. However, the Census Bureau points to two reasons for the rapid completion. First, more people than expected responded by mail to the Census. Thus, there were fewer households for enumerators to count. Second, the Bureau ended up using more than twice as many enumerators as had originally been planned. < Back | Next > Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. | 
