Amendment XII

The 2010 census will change the composition of the Electoral College

Comments by Nate Segal

After the 2010 census, some states may gain representatives in Congress; some may lose. Congressional districts will be redrawn according to population. Each district is supposed to contain roughly the same number of people who live there.

None of this is a surprise when we study the U. S. Constitution and its amendments.

"Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed" (Amendment XIV, Section 2).

Conducting an accurate census is a challenge. Here's an excerpt from an article in the Kansas City Star:

Area cities counting on counts in 2010 Census

By BRAD COOPER and LYNN HORSLEY The Kansas City Star Wednesday, October 14, 2009, page A4

... there is a growing concern nationwide that the next census — an event required every 10 years by the Constitution — will be tougher than any head counts done before.

A new study out this week by the Pew Charitable Trusts shows that a number of major cities — Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles among them— are struggling to amass the resources they need to get as complete a count as possible.

Most of the cities in the study had less money and fewer staffers to devote to the census than they did 10 years ago. Only five of the 11 cities had committed public funds to the census. Some cities, such as Detroit, are relying on private donations to promote the census.

Census workers traditionally have struggled to count the homeless, minorities and immigrants in large cities, and many expect the 2010 effort to be especially challenging.

Factors increasing that challenge include the swine flu virus, which could isolate certain populations; heightened rhetoric about immigration policy; and general distrust of government.

Residents in Kansas City and Wyandotte County have had some of the worst census response rates in the area.

A little more than a third of the residents in both places didn’t respond to census questionnaires in 2000, forcing workers to make in-person visits to gather the data.

The response rates in some of the area’s more affluent suburbs, such as Overland Park and Lee’s Summit, approached 80 percent, according to Census Bureau statistics.

To reach Brad Cooper, call 816-234-7724 or send e-mail to bcooper@kcstar.com.