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Volume 10 No. 2 SUPREME COURT ISSUES MIXED RULING - BARS CENSUS SAMPLING FOR SOME PURPOSES
Thursday, February 26, 1998
On January 25, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in a much anticipated decision that the Federal Census Act of 1976 prevents the Census Bureau from using statistical sampling to determine the population for purposes of Congressional apportionment, Department of Commerce v. U.S. House of Representatives. The decision does not prevent the use of statistical sampling to adjust the undercount for non-apportionment purposes, such as legislative redistricting and the distribution of billions of dollars in federal monies. In fact the opinion suggests that the law may require the use of sampling for these latter purposes. The Clinton administration has indicated it intends to collect, in effect, two sets of numbers, and civil rights groups and other stakeholder organizations have begun a campaign to get Congress to overturn the Court's decision to allow for sampling for reapportionment.
At the same time, when Congress considers the Census Bureau's fiscal year 1999 funding, set to expire June 15, Congressional opponents of sampling will seek to include language in the appropriations bill to prevent the Census from using statistical sampling for any purpose. Below, we provide a brief discussion of the distinction between reapportionment and redistricting, and summaries of the Supreme Court case, the debate before the 105th Congress, and what is anticipated in the 106th.
Background
The U.S. Constitution requires a count of the population every ten years, the decennial census. The data are used for many purposes, but first and foremost to apportion congressional seats and electoral college votes to each state. Other uses of the data include: congressional, state and local redistricting; monitoring and enforcing compliance with civil rights statutes; and allocating billions in federal funds.
Many individuals use the terms 'reapportionment' and 'redistricting' interchangeably even though the two terms have very different meanings. Reapportionment is the division of the nation's 435 Congressional districts among the states whereas 'redistricting' refers to the actual drawing of districts within a state.
Reapportionment
By Federal statute, there are 435 congressional districts that comprise the U.S. House of Representatives. Following each decennial census, the total population of the United States (ascertained through the decennial census) is divided by 435 to determine the approximate number of people in each Congressional district. Based on the population of each state, the 435 Congressional districts are 'apportioned' among the states with each state having at least one representative regardless of population. Currently, the states of Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Vermont each have one representative in Congress.
The remaining districts are allocated among the states according to a complicated mathematical population formula based on state populations. The Secretary of Commerce is required to submit the state population totals to the President within nine months of Census day (April 1), and the President must submit the apportionment to the Clerk of the House within five days of the convening of Congress in the new year.
Redistricting
Redistricting refers to the drawing of Congressional district lines within a state. After each state has been apportioned its number of districts, it must draw districts of roughly equal population. The laws governing redistricting include the United States and State constitutions, as well as Federal and State laws and court decisions.
Why this Distinction is Important
The Supreme Court decision was decided on a very specific and narrow issue - whether the Census Act allowed for the use of statistical methods in the decennial census for the apportionment of seats among the states. The majority of the Court emphasized that the 1976 amendments to the Census Act changed a provision that permitted the use of sampling for purposes other than apportionment into one that required that sampling be used for such purposes if 'feasible.'" The Census Bureau is still free to use modern statistical methods for non-apportionment purposes, i.e., by states to carry out redistricting or by the federal government for the distribution of federal funds.
The Question of Who Will Be Counted in the Census 2000 Is a Major Civil Rights Issue
As discussed above, sampling is still permitted for redistricting and federal fund distribution. In addition, Congress is free to amend the Census Act of 1976 to allow the use of sampling methods for reapportionment. The 105th Congress postponed final resolution of the dispute over scientific sampling methods until the Spring when the Census Bureau's fiscal year 1999 (FY'99) funding is set to expire.
  
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