Libertarian Party of NY -- Helping you Follow the News -- Census 2000

Census 2000 -- How Many, That's All

Updates: lawsuits and bills out of Texas to protect your privacy!

That form you received in the mail. Should you or shouldn't you? What's it all about?

The Constitution sets up the idea of a census. Not directly, mind you, but by requiring a count for the purpose of apportioning representation.

Originally, Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution read

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
Article I, section 2 of the U.S. Constitution

This thankfully got amended to

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. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution

How do you get from this section of the Constitution to the form you just filled out? (Assuming you did.) Well, Title 13 is the section of the US Code that JUST talks about the census. It was created because of the requirement in the Constitution to have a count of people living in the various states, which we just saw above. The entire U.S. Code is online...so take a look at Title 13 for yourself, courtesy of Cornell Law School. (Title 13 will open in a new window.)

The Census Bureau refers to Title 13 on the cover of the form it sent you, as justification for you to answer the questions:

Your privacy is protected by law (Title 13 of the United States Code), which also requires that you answer these questions. That law ensures that your information is only used for statistical purposes and that no unauthorized person can see your form or find out what you tell us - no other government agency, no court of law, NO ONE. (form D-16A(L), capitalization in the original)

No one? Well, this is probably true--they will not release individual records. But they WILL release block-level summaries (by census tract). They did during World War II, to aid local authorities in rounding up Japanese-Americans. For more info on the 120,000 Americans who were locked up by the U.S. Government, assisted by block-level reports on where Japanese lived, see the PBS special, Children of the Camp and the ACLU's testimony before Congress in 1994.

There are three sections of Title 13 that have particular relevance for someone wondering whether they really have to answer all those questions: 141 and 221, and don't miss 225!

Section 221 says that the penalty is $100 for not answering the census, and $500 for giving an incorrect answer.

Sec. 221. Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers

(a) Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of the Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census or survey provided for by subchapters I, II, IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title, applying to himself or to the family to which he belongs or is related, or to the farm or farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall be fined not more than $100.
(b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a) of this section, and under the conditions or circumstances described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is false, shall be fined not more than $500.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no person shall be compelled to disclose information relative to his religious beliefs or to membership in a religious body.
From Section 225

Section 141 establishes that the Secretary of the Department of Commerce shall take a census once a decade and report back the total number of people within nine months for determining how many people there are, plus one mid-decade survey (i.e., with statistical sampling) to determine other demographic information.

Sec. 141. Population and other census information
(a) The Secretary shall, in the year 1980 and every 10 years thereafter, take a decennial census of population as of the first day of April of such year, which date shall be known as the ''decennial census date'', in such form and content as he may determine, including the use of sampling procedures and special surveys. In connection with any such census, the Secretary is authorized to obtain such other census information as necessary.
(b) The tabulation of total population by States under subsection (a) of this section as required for the apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the several States shall be completed within 9 months after the census date and reported by the Secretary to the President of the United States.
(c) The officers or public bodies having initial responsibility for the legislative apportionment or districting of each State may, not later than 3 years before the decennial census date, submit to the Secretary a plan identifying the geographic areas for which specific tabulations of population are desired. Each such plan shall be developed in accordance with criteria established by the Secretary, which he shall furnish to such officers or public bodies not later than April 1 of the fourth year preceding the decennial census date. Such criteria shall include requirements which assure that such plan shall be developed in a nonpartisan manner. Should the Secretary find that a plan submitted by such officers or public bodies does not meet the criteria established by him, he shall consult to the extent necessary with such officers or public bodies in order to achieve the alterations in such plan that he deems necessary to bring it into accord with such criteria. Any issues with respect to such plan remaining unresolved after such consultation shall be resolved by the Secretary, and in all cases he shall have final authority for determining the geographic format of such plan. Tabulations of population for the areas identified in any plan approved by the Secretary shall be completed by him as expeditiously as possible after the decennial census date and reported to the Governor of the State involved and to the officers or public bodies having responsibility for legislative apportionment or districting of such State, except that such tabulations of population of each State requesting a tabulation plan, and basic tabulations of population of each other State, shall, in any event, be completed, reported, and transmitted to each respective State within one year after the decennial census date.
(d) Without regard to subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section, the Secretary, in the year 1985 and every 10 years thereafter, shall conduct a mid-decade census of population in such form and content as he may determine, including the use of sampling procedures and special surveys, taking into account the extent to which information to be obtained from such census will serve in lieu of information collected annually or less frequently in surveys or other statistical studies. The census shall be taken as of the first day of April of each such year, which date shall be known as the ''mid-decade census date''.
(e)
(1) If -
(A) in the administration of any program established by or under Federal law which provides benefits to State or local governments or to other recipients, eligibility for or the amount of such benefits would (without regard to this paragraph) be determined by taking into account data obtained in the most recent decennial census, and
(B) comparable data is obtained in a mid-decade census conducted after such decennial census, then in the determination of such eligibility or amount of benefits the most recent data available from either the mid-decade or decennial census shall be used.
(2) Information obtained in any mid-decade census shall not be used for apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the several States, nor shall such information be used in prescribing congressional districts.
(f) With respect to each decennial and mid-decade census conducted under subsection (a) or (d) of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the committees of Congress having legislative jurisdiction over the census -
(1) not later than 3 years before the appropriate census date, a report containing the Secretary's determination of the subjects proposed to be included, and the types of information to be compiled, in such census;
(2) not later than 2 years before the appropriate census date, a report containing the Secretary's determination of the questions proposed to be included in such census; and
(3) after submission of a report under paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection and before the appropriate census date, if the Secretary finds new circumstances exist which necessitate that the subjects, types of information, or questions contained in reports so submitted be modified, a report containing the Secretary's determination of the subjects, types of information, or questions as proposed to be modified.
(g) As used in this section, ''census of population'' means a census of population, housing, and matters relating to population and housing.
Section 241

It kind of looks like the Congress has the power to limit the number of questions the Secretary asks, before the census is designed. (That would make it too late to complain about it now!) But, just because Title 13 gives the Secretary the right to ASK you these questions, do you have to answer them? Do the penalties apply to not answering questions for the demographic survey aspect of the census the same way they apply to the actual Constitutional reason the census is being conducted? Aye, there's the $100 question.

The fact is that the penalty is only applied to a few people each decade, while millions of people decide not to answer the census. I'll leave you with the text of Section 225 to figure if the penalty applies to you. And please, follow the links referenced within the original 225 (follow link at bottom) to investigate further.

Sec. 225. Applicability of penal provisions in certain cases
(a) In connection with any survey conducted by the Secretary or other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof pursuant to subchapter IV of chapter 5 of this title, the provisions of sections 221, 222, 223 and 224 of this title shall apply -
(1) with respect to the answering of questions and furnishing of information, only to such inquiries as are within the scope of the schedules and questionnaires and of the type and character heretofore used in connection with the taking of complete censuses under subchapters I and II of chapter 5 of this title, or in connection with any censuses hereafter taken pursuant to such subchapters;
(2) only after publication of a determination with reasons therefor certified by the Secretary, or by some other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof with the approval of the Secretary, that the information called for is needed to aid or permit the efficient performance of essential governmental functions or services, or has significant application to the needs of the public, business, or industry and is not publicly available from nongovernmental or other governmental sources;
(3) in the case of any new survey, only after public notice, given by the Secretary or other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof at least thirty days in advance of requesting a return, that such survey is under consideration.
(b) The provisions for imprisonment provided by section 222 of this title shall not apply in connection with any survey conducted pursuant to subchapter II of chapter 3 of this title, or to subchapter IV of chapter 5 of this title.
(c) The provisions of sections 221, 222, 223, and 224 of this title shall not apply to any censuses or surveys of governments provided for by subchapters III and IV of chapter 5 of this title, nor to other surveys provided for by subchapter IV of such chapter which are taken more frequently than annually.
(d) Where the doctrine, teaching, or discipline of any religious denomination or church prohibits the disclosure of information relative to membership, a refusal, in such circumstances, to furnish such information shall not be an offense under this chapter.
Section 225

UPDATE Five people in Texas have sued the director of the Census, and U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon has granted a temporary restraining order and ruled that none of the plaintiffs will be subject to actual or threatened prosecution during the course of litigating the case. Full story from CNSNews.com, a conservative online news agency founded by the Media Research Center. CNSNews reports the lawyer for the plaintiffs as saying that this "effectively prevents prosecution against any American who chooses to not answer question other than the number of people living at their address."

UPDATE Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) has introduced a bill that will prohibit the Census Bureau from collecting any information from citizens except for name, address, and the number of people per residence. Congressman Paul says the bill, HR 4085, was prompted by scores of calls to his office from constituents who felt the census form was too intrusive.

Related Links:

The Census 2000 web site, where you can file online if you received the 'short form:' http://www.2000.census.gov/

Press Release from Ron Paul (R-TX) about H.R. 4085, a bill to limit the census. (Part of his Privacy Package)

WorldNetDaily: Go along to get along?

Libertarian Party Press Release: Real Americans don't answer nosy Census questions

John Gilmore, a privacy advocate and founder of the EFF: about the census (originally written for the 1990 census)

CNN covers census day: Everyone Counts (which includes a section on privacy concerns)

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