What to do if you believe there has been a 2010 Census miscount
City and county administrators are questioning some of the findings of the 2010 U.S. Census of population. Leaders in Prince George County, Va., say U.S. Census Bureau workers somehow did not count 7,500 soldiers living on the Fort Lee military post in the county. That could mean fewer federal and state program dollars for the area.
Undercounting could affect federal payouts for schools in the county. If soldiers were not counted, their children, who attend public schools in the community, may not have been counted either. “If we don’t have those numbers in place, it could be very difficult for us to be approved for certain grants we’re eligible for,” said Prince George County Administrator Percy Ashcraft.
Lexington, Neb., officials believe that 2010 Census figures undercount the town’s actual population and fear the newest residents, refugees from Somalia and Sudan, in Africa, may have been missed in the 2010 tabulations.
According to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Lexington grew by only 219 people during the past 10 years, a 2.2 percent increase. “It’s much lower than what I expected,” Lexington Assistant City Manager Dennis Burnside said of the official 2010 Census population count of 10,230.
In New York, the U.S. Census Bureau claims some of the Manhattan borough’s most densely populated neighborhoods — the upper West Side, the upper East Side, the West Village and Gramercy — lost thousands of housing units from 2000 through 2010. Census tabulators made that conclusion in spite of the numerous residential towers that have been constructed throughout Manhattan since the start of the new century.
“That’s crazy,” said City Councilwoman Gail Brewer, who represents the densely populated upper West Side. “It doesn’t make any sense to me, like the rest of the census.”
City and county officials who have questions about the 2010 census tabulations should consider using the Census Bureau’s Count Question Resolution process. Contact the Census Bureau’s customer services center at 301-763-INFO (4636) for queries regarding the process.
Count Question Resolution will accept challenge submissions from governmental units beginning June 1, 2011. The Census Bureau must receive all challenges no later than June 1, 2013. The Census Bureau will not collect any additional data or conduct additional surveys during the challenge process.
