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2010 United States census

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The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 will be the next national census in the United States. The census has been conducted every 10 years since 1790, as required by the United States Constitution, with the previous one completed in 2000.

Major changes

The Census Bureau will no longer use a separate long form for the 2010 Census. In previous censuses, one in six households received this more detailed form asking for detailed social and economic information.[citation needed] The 2010 Census will use only a short-form asking basic questions, such as name, gender, age, date of birth, race, ethnicity, relationship, and housing tenure.[1]

Detailed socioeconomic information collected during past censuses will continue to be collected through the American Community Survey.[2] The survey provides data about communities in the United States on a yearly basis rather than once every 10 years. A small percentage of the population on a rotating basis will receive the survey each year, and no household will receive it more than once every five years.[3][dead link]

Cost

The Government Accountability Office estimated in 2004 that the cost of the 2010 Census would be over $11 billion. In a detailed report to Congress, it called on the Census Bureau to address cost and design issues.[4]

Lockheed Martin won a six-year, $500 million contract to capture and standardize data for the census. The contract includes systems, facilities, and staffing.[citation needed] Information technology will be about a quarter of the projected $11.3 billion cost of the decennial census.[5] This will be the first census to use hand-held computing devices with GPS capability.[6][not specific enough to verify] Unlike the 2000 census, an Internet response option will not be offered.[1][2]

Same-sex marriage

In June 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau announced it would count same-sex married couples. However, technical problems with current Census software may affect whether they are included in the census as "married" or whether they will be listed as "unmarried partners."[7] As of January 1, 2010, Five states – Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire allow marriages between partners of any sex combination to be performed by the state; (Washington, D.C. also permitted them as of the beginning January 2010). In addition, 18,000 same-sex couples in California were married in 2008. Also, New York recognizes marriages between partners of the same sex performed in other states as legal.

Marketing

In April 2009, the Census Bureau announced that it intended to work with community organizations in an effort to count all illegal immigrants in the United States for the census.[8] In September 2009, after undercover exposé videos of questionable activities by staff of one of these community organizations were made public, the partnership of ACORN in the 2010 United States Census was terminated.[9]

2012 election

Likely changes in U.S. Representatives[10]
State Change New
Texas Template:Nk 36
Arizona Template:Nk 9
Florida Template:Nk 26
Georgia Template:Nk 14
Nevada Template:Nk 4
South Carolina Template:Nk 7
Utah Template:Nk 4
Washington[11] Template:Nk 10
Illinois Template:Nk 18
Iowa Template:Nk 4
Louisiana Template:Nk 6
Massachusetts Template:Nk 9
Michigan Template:Nk 14
Minnesota Template:Nk 7
New Jersey Template:Nk 12
New York Template:Nk 28
Pennsylvania Template:Nk 18
Ohio Template:Nk 16

The results of the 2010 census will determine the number of seats each state receives in the United States House of Representatives starting with the 2012 elections. Consequently, this will also affect the number of votes that states receive in the Electoral College for the 2012 presidential election.

Projections

One projection for changes in representation in the House of Representatives based on 2000-2009 growth rate from the Census Bureau's population estimates is in the tables to the right.[10]

Missouri was projected to lose one of its nine seats, but the chance to retain all nine "is more likely now than it was previously" according to the 2009 U.S. Census Bureau population estimated figures from July 1.[12]

Controversy

On September 12, 2009, census worker Bill Sparkman, 51, was found hanged in Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky with the word "fed" written on his chest.[13][14] His death was later ruled a suicide made to look like a murder in order not to nullify his life insurance.[15]

Also, organizations such as the Prison Policy Initiative argue that the Census counts of incarcerated men and women as residents of prisons, rather than of their pre-incarceration addresses, will skew political clout and result in misleading demographic and population data.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b "About the Census Form". 2010 Census. United States Census. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  2. ^ a b Castro, Daniel (2008). "e-Census Unplugged: Why Americans Should Be Able to Complete the Census Online" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ http://2010.census.gov/2010census/about_2010_census/007622.html [dead link]
  4. ^ "2010 Census: Cost and Design Issues Need to Be Addressed Soon (GAO-04-37)" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States General Accounting Office. 2004-01-15. OCLC 54778614. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  5. ^ Sternstein, Aliya (2005-06-13). "Preparing for a decennial task". Federal Computer Week. Falls Church, Virginia: 1105 Media. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  6. ^ Budget of the United States Government, FY 2006[not specific enough to verify]
  7. ^ http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/07/08/technical-issues-mean-2010-us-census-may-not-count-gay-married-couples/
  8. ^ Ballasy, Nicholas (2009-04-02). "Census Bureau: We'll Work with 'Community Organizations' to Count All Illegal Aliens in 2010". Cybercast News Service. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  9. ^ Sherman, Jake (September 12, 2009). "Census Bureau Cuts Its Ties With Acorn". The Wall Street Journal. online.wsj.com. pp. A4. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  10. ^ a b "Congressional Apportionment: 2010 Projections Based Upon State Estimates as of July 1, 2009". Clark H. Bensen. 2009-12-23. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  11. ^ Lornet Turnbull (Dec. 23, 2009). "Washington is on track to add seat in U.S. House". The Seattle Times. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Mark Schlinkmann (2009-12-24-09). "Missouri projected to keep 9 in House". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2009-12-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Online Conspiracy Theorists Latch Onto Census GPS Units, Kevin Poulson, Wired.com, September 24, 2009.
  14. ^ F.B.I. Is Investigating the Death of a Federal Census Field Worker, Associated Press, New York Times, September 24, 2009.
  15. ^ Police: Census worker made death look like homicide to get money, Bill Estep, Lexington Herald-Leader, November 25, 2009.
  16. ^ Lotke, Eric; Wagner, Peter (Spring 2004). "Prisoners of the Census: Electoral and Financial Consequences of Counting Prisoners Where They Go, Not Where They Come From". Pace Law Review (PDF). 24 (2). White Plains, New York: Pace Law School: 587–607. ISSN 0272-2410. Originally presented at Prison Reform Revisited: a symposium held at Pace University School of Law and the New York State Judicial Institute, Oct. 16–18, 2003. Research supported by grants from the Soros Justice Fellowship Program of the Open Society InstituteTemplate:Accessdate
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