OUR CENSUS

March, 2000 -- In March, Census 2000 will begin in the Palisades and around the country.
The Constitution requires a census every 10 years for the purpose of realigning the voting districts throughout the country. The first census was taken in 1790, the year after the Constitution was declared in effect.
This year’s census will be the first fully computerized census, from data collection to the final results on the Internet. Optical scanners will be used to input information from the millions of forms to be distributed next month.
Census has a very interesting Website: www.census.gov.
Each household will receive one of two possible forms, called the short and the long forms.
The six-page Short Form will be sent to 83 percent of the approximately 118 million households in the U.S., and the Long Form to the rest.
The Short Form asks for limited information—age, sex, race, “Hispanic origin,” household relationships, and whether the home is owned or rented.
The 12-page Long Form requests economic and social information in addition to the Short Form information.
On March 6 letters will be sent to every household announcing the census. Then, on March 13, one of the two forms will be sent to residents.
To follow up, on March 22, reminder letters will be sent asking that the forms be completed and remitted.
On April 27 door-to-door canvassing will start to collect forms not already returned.
Cooperation is important for reasons in addition to nationwide representation, a right we have not yet received in DC.
The city’s Wards are realigned depending on new census data. Moreover, more that $180 billion dollars in Federal program funds are distributed depending on this data.
—Doug Ormerod