Supreme Court weighs census sampling dispute

A partisan battle over whether sampling can be used in the 2000 census reached the Supreme Court today as the Clinton administration tried to make its case for using the controversial approach over Republican objections, the Associated Press reported.

Solicitor General Seth Waxman told the court that while no census finds everyone, the administration's plan "will best achieve the Constitution's goal of determining the number of persons in each state" and that "it is, in effect, a quality check" on the initial head count to be conducted on April 1, 2000.

But attorneys for the House and a group of citizens argued the Constitution and federal census law prohibit the statistical sampling the government wants to use. The Constitution calls for an "actual enumeration" of the population, said Michael Carvin, arguing for the private citizens, adding, "The only process it contemplates is counting."

Chief Justice William Rehnquist wondered aloud how government officials can know what the "true number" of the population is. If that can be figured out by statisticians, he asked, "Why do we need a census, then?"

The court is expected to aim for a decision by March in a case that could affect the shape of congressional, state and local election districts nationwide, as well as billions of dollars in federal money. The administration is asking the justices to reverse two lower court rulings that federal law bars use of statistical methods to adjust the census figures.