Who to Count in the Census

by Kerby Anderson, Point of View: Next year’s census will determine how many members of the House of Representatives will be allocated to each state and will thus also determine the number of votes each state will get in the Electoral College. The procedure would seem to be straightforward. It’s not.

In the past, I have talked about the controversy that arose over who should oversee the census and who will be taking the census. Today, I would like to deal with another controversy: who should be counted in the census. Some say only legal, permanent residents should be counted. Others say everyone should be counted.

In the past, it might not have made much difference whether we counted only citizens or all residents. But with the increasing numbers of illegal aliens, that difference is considerable. If we count only citizens in California, it will have 48 House seats. If we count everyone in California, it will have 57 House seats. That’s a difference of nine House seats. Those seats are going to come from other states (like New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Illinois) that will lose representatives if illegal aliens are counted.

A little history is in order. The first Census Act of 1790 provided that enumeration of that year would count inhabitants and distinguish various subgroups by age, sex, and status as free persons. Early census questionnaires asked, “What state or foreign country were you born in?” and then questioned those born outside of the U.S. if they were naturalized.

Over time, Congress and the Census Bureau began to ask additional questions that had little to do with its constitutional purpose. By 1980, there were two census forms. The shorter form was used to establish congressional apportionment. The longer form asked various questions (including citizenship status) and went to only a sample of U.S. households. Since 1980, the census has not distinguished between citizens and those who are in the country illegally. The 2010 census will only use the short form.

It appears to me that the census is no longer following the constitutional pattern that was changed back in 1980. Some states will benefit from this change, while others will lose. I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.

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