THE SUPREME Court last week agreed to consider the dispute between those who believe the Census should stick to counting people and those who favor using sophisticated statistical analysis to arrive at total population. Since much depends on Census Bureau population figures, this is an important political, social and economic issue.
It has also been treated as something of a partisan one in the past. Big cities are Democratic turf. But New York City and Los Angeles are Republican-run today, so perhaps partisanship will fade away. It should. It is important for everyone in Maryland, for example, for Baltimore to get its fair share when it comes to apportionment and to federal and state aid based on official Census counts.
That statistical analysis and adjustment are more accurate than traditional door-to-door and mail-in nose counts is really beyond dispute. There is little disputing that the U.S. population in 1990 was some 5.2 million larger than the final Census number. Even the federal district judge who ruled in favor of the use of traditional methods in 1990 said the statistical analysis was more accurate. He just said he thought the law was clear that the Commerce Department secretary, who oversees the Census Bureau, could decide which method to choose.
