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Line 1: − + − + − + + − + − + + − + + + + + + + + + − Quoting Article I of the Constitution, the Utah v. Evans court said, "The final part of the sentence says that the “actual Enumeration” shall take place “in such Manner as” Congress itself “shall by Law direct,” thereby suggesting the breadth of congressional methodological authority, rather than its limitation." The text of the constitution and the courts interpretation of that text both state clearly that the census is the responsibility of Congress. But President Obama is having the White House run the 2010 census. This is an unconstitutional, dangerous violation of Separation of Powers. Line 27:
Line 36: − − ==Actual Enumeration== − − There are several ways in which Obama might circumvent the requirement of Actual Enumeration, in order to gerrymander districts to favor his reelection. The census also affects the [[electoral college]]. − − In a blog entry, Michael Barone said the following: − − <blockquote> − “Article I (as Joseph Biden didn't know in debate) is about the legislative, not the executive branch. Hence, it is argued, the president can't substitute a sampling for the enumeration required to be done by the secretary. − <br> − “However, it is undoubtedly true that the president can fire the secretary of commerce for any reason, including failure to conduct the Census the way he wants the Census conducted.” − </blockquote> − − There are no checks and balances to prevent the President from manipulating the Secretary of Commerce. + + + − When he served in the census bureaus from 1990 to 1992, Robert M. Groves favored sampling, rather than Actual Enumeration. In 1999, Doc v. United States House of Representatives, 525 U.S. 316 (1999) ruled that sampling cannot be used in redistricting during a census. − This ruling against sampling was a step in the right direction, but other techniques which lend themselves to fraud still exist. Hot-Deck Imputation replaces missing data with data taken from other results of the same set.
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'''Census 2010''' will be overseen by the Obama Administration. This may be unconstitutional, because Actual Enumeration is found in Article I of the U.S. Constitution, implying that the census is the responsibility of the Legislative branch.
'''Census 2010''' is now in preparation, with thousands of enumerators being hired. The cost is estimated to be $15 billion, the most expensive ever, and experts have long said the Census Bureau must do more to reduce a persistent undercount among minorities, as well as to modernize what is basically a paper mailing operation that has been in place for decades.
President Obama has chosen [[Robert M. Groves]] as the census director. Groves is a professor at the [[University of Michigan]], and is known to favor sampling over the [[Actual Enumeration]] required by the Constitution.
President Obama has nominated [[Robert M. Groves]], a foremost statistician and an expert on non-response, as the Census director. The basic design work for the Census is already in place.
There are at least four important issues at stake in the '''Census 2010''':
==Issues==
There are at least five important issues at stake in the '''Census 2010''':
* at least four electoral votes, and perhaps more, should shift from Democratic to Republican States for the 2012, 2016 and 2020 presidential elections
* at least four electoral votes, and perhaps more, could shift from Democratic to Republican States for the 2012, 2016 and 2020 presidential elections
* the apportionment and gerrymandering of congressional seats within States with respect to Democratic (urban) versus Republican (rural) areas
* the apportionment and gerrymandering of congressional seats within States with respect to Democratic (urban) versus Republican (rural) areas
* the allocation of federal dollars to regions of the nation based on the population counts
* the allocation of federal dollars to regions of the nation based on the population counts
* the credibility of the Obama Administration in fabricating the count
* the credibility of the Obama Administration in taking the count
* the need to minimize the number of people who are not counted. (The law says that illegal aliens have to be counted as well as everyone else.)
==Is White House Control of the Census Unconstitutional?==
==Constitutional roles==
Quoting Article I of the Constitution, the Utah v. Evans court said, "The final part of the sentence says that the “actual Enumeration” shall take place “in such Manner as” Congress itself “shall by Law direct,” thereby suggesting the breadth of congressional methodological authority, rather than its limitation." The text of the constitution and the courts interpretation of that text both state clearly that the census is the responsibility of Congress. Congress has by law assigned the design of the Census to the Secretary of Commerce.
The White House has made clear that the Secretary of Congress, will have final authority (and not the White House).<ref> See [http://www.blnz.com/news/2009/04/02/Source_Obama_taps_Groves_census_7239.html AP report April 2, 2009]</ref>
The Supreme Court later ruled in 1999 that the use of statistical sampling cannot be used to apportion House seats, but indicated that adjustments could be made to the population count when redrawing congressional boundaries.
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has made clear under oath to the Senate that sampling will not be used for apportionment. He stated during his confirmation hearing that there are no plans to use sampling for redistricting, while indicating that sampling could be used to measure census accuracy or collect a wider range of demographic data.<ref> See [http://www.blnz.com/news/2009/04/02/Source_Obama_taps_Groves_census_7239.html AP report April 2, 2009]</ref>
==Design Changes New to This Census==
==Design Changes New to This Census==
Fourth, '''duplicate enumerations will be removed'''.
Fourth, '''duplicate enumerations will be removed'''.
==Sampling and Hot-Deck Imputation==
==Sampling and Hot-Deck Imputation==
When he served in the census bureaus from 1990 to 1992, Robert M. Groves favored sampling, rather than Actual Enumeration. In 1999, Doc v. United States House of Representatives, 525 U.S. 316 (1999) ruled that sampling cannot be used in the count used for redistricting the House, but can be used in all other Census reports.
==Further reading==
* Cork, Daniel L. et al. ''Reengineering the 2010 census: risks and challenges'' (National Research Council Committee on National Statistics, 2004) [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/55029117/editions?editionsView=true&referer=di online edition]
==References==
==References==