Do You Want to Count in the Census?

WASHINGTON (Feb. 6) -- What people do with their census form when it arrives in their mailbox next month depends a lot on who they are.

If they are under 30, they probably have other priorities. If their family is Hispanic, they're more wary about filling it out. Same thing if they are Republicans or independents.

Those who've been around a long time are more likely to do their decennial duty. Wealthier and highly educated citizens also are more apt to take part. Ditto for Democrats.

So says a recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press on how Americans view the government-mandated population count.

Census data is used to apportion seats in the House of Representatives and to draw state and local district lines. It is also used to allocate federal funds. Besides death and taxes, it's just about the only thing all Americans must endure.

The census has been taken in every year ending in zero since 1790 -- as mandated by the U.S. Constitution -- and yet "there are a lot of people who are not familiar with it," said Scott Keeter, director of survey research at Pew. Nearly half, 46 percent, incorrectly said that participation is not required by law.

The survey found most people have heard of the census. But there are differences. Familiarity correlated with income, education and age: The more you had, the more likely you knew what it was all about. One in three young people said they were unfamiliar with the population count, as did a third of Hispanics.

"The good news is that this can be affected by public outreach or by advertising, forming relationships with community organizations," Keeter said.

Fans watching Sunday's Super Bowl pre-game show will see two TV ads touting the census. The spots are part of a $340 million publicity campaign to raise awareness that the counting has begun and will rev up next month when short, 10-question forms arrive at 134 million addresses nationwide.

The Census Bureau also is partnering with community groups to reach historically undercounted groups -- the young, the poor, minorities and immigrants. It also wants to assuage fears among skeptics who might be inclined to not participate in the ultimate "government-run program," or who fear the information will be shared with immigration or law enforcement officials.

"They are reinforcing the message, 'OK, you might not like it that this information is being asked, but not responding doesn't mean the Census Bureau is going to go away," said Sunshine Hillygus, a Duke University political scientist who has studied the census. "If you don't fill out the form, somebody will come knock on your door" to get the answers.

If the Pew survey is any indication, there may be more follow-up visits to the homes of Republicans and independents than to Democrats' homes once the deadline is up for mailing back the questionnaire in late April. In the first study to take partisan leanings into account, Pew found Democrats were more likely to say they intended to fill out their forms than Republicans or those with no party affiliation.

"Republicans are less pro-government than Democrats, and it may be that the census is viewed as associated with the government," Keeter said. He noted that many independents are young people who have never filled out a census form.

That doesn't mean that those on the right won't be fully counted, Hillygus said. Republicans tend to be wealthier, which increases their likelihood of participation. They also are more likely to own a second home and have children living at college -- both factors that have historically led to overcounting.

Among the small minority, 6 percent, of all Americans who told Pew they would definitely or probably not participate in the census, a third said they were too busy, had no time or were not interested, while another 25 percent said they didn't know much about it. Fewer people, 18 percent, cited a distrust of government, while 8 percent cited privacy concerns.