The 2010 Census: Who will Count and Who Will Be Counted
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On July 23, 2004, EPIC obtained documents revealing that the Census Bureau provided the Department of Homeland Security statistical data on people who identified themselves on the 2000 census as being of Arab ancestry. This plenary will explore how the 2010 census will be conducted and what steps have been taken to prevent abuse of census data.
Speakers (tentative)
- Lillie Coney: Associate Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), moderator.
- John Verdi: Director of Open Government, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
- Robert Martin Groves: Director, Bureau of the Census. (Invited)
- Mary Ellen Callahan: Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security. (Invited)
- Helen Hatab Samhan: Executive Director, Arab American Institute. (Invited)
Detailed Description:
The counting of citizens can be traced back to the Biblical recordings of Moses. In the Book of Numbers, Moses counted people in areas surrounding his kingdom in order to strengthen the count of the population under his control. Scholars discuss that the list of names was used as an original census, creating a legal identity of and control over a group of people.
After the first census, Thomas Jefferson and the American Philosophical Society lobbied for the expansion of reported census information on age, birthplace, and occupation for the purpose of ascertaining "the causes which influence life and health" and "the conditions and vocations of our fellow citizens." Since then, the census became an instituted method of gathering information about American Society.
The US Census has been administered every ten years since the Revolutionary War, and it was intended to be used primarily for the apportionment of Representatives for Congress. However, census data is used for many purposes such as enforcement of voting rights laws, distribution of federal payments, and apportionment of representatives for state and local office holders. For this reason the 2010 Census is more than just about counting people, but who will be counted. States and local jurisdictions benefit from federal government payments for an array of programs ranging from education to road construction.
The complexity of the census has grown with the expansion of the United States; the US government has found extensive uses for census related statistics. The census has also been crucial in tracking the population needs of various regions and understanding the structural composition of the nation's population. Politically, the census has become a tool in the process of congressional reapportionment.
With this growth in complexity in the conduct of the Census has come a increased challenge to transparency and accountability on how the government makes decisions about who will be counted, how the data is collected, if it is disclosed, or used outside of the purpose of the Census.
Because participation in the Census is required by law it is important to assure the public that the problems uncovered in 2004 will not be a problem in 2010.
The panel will take a hard look at what was discovered in 2004, and ask tough questions about how privacy, transparency, and accountability will be assured in the first post September 11, 2001 national census.
