Millions of Aid Dollars at Stake as Trial in Census Challenge Begins

A challenge to the accuracy of the 1990 Census went to trial Monday, with a lawyer for 30 state and local governments--including California and Los Angeles--saying that minorities who traditionally vote Democratic were undercounted.

At stake are millions of dollars in federal aid to states and cities.

“The issue here is the mechanism by which we apportion power in the United States,” said lawyer Roger Rifkind, speaking for governments that want the Census corrected by statistical means.

“The justified sense that there is a thumb on the scale, tipping it against the most vulnerable minorities, is profoundly upsetting,” he said.

Also among the challengers are the states of New York, Texas, New Jersey, Florida and Arizona. Among the other cities are New York, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Washington and Cleveland.

The Commerce Department, which oversees the Census, has refused to adjust the Census. The states and cities are asking U.S. District Judge Joseph McLaughlin to overturn that decision.

Rifkind said the Commerce Department was politically motivated, since the people missed were mainly minorities who traditionally vote Democratic. California and Arizona said the undercount cost them one congressional seat each.

The 1990 Census counted 248.7 million people. Two statistical surveys, done by the Census Bureau’s own experts, indicated that the nation’s population was closer to 253 million. Last July, then-Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher rejected that number, saying the accuracy of the surveys was suspect.

Justice Department attorney Michael Sitcov denied that the White House was involved in Mosbacher’s decision. He said he intended to show the adjusted figures were the result of “an error-prone process.”

Rifkind said he would show numerous “improper contacts” between Commerce Department and White House officials.

The trial, with testimony from academicians, statisticians and two former Census Bureau officials, is expected to last about three weeks.