When Giles Ward was chosen as Mississippi’s Complete Count chairman for the 2020 U.S. Census last year, former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour gave him a call.
Barbour, who had been the Complete Count chairman in 1970, told Ward a story as a sort of introduction to the role, and Ward relayed the same story to a joint meeting of the Lowndes County Republican Women and Columbus Rotary on Tuesday.
During the 1970 Census, Barbour had visited a nursing home and talked to the administrator to collect some information for the count. He asked the administrator if she could give him a list of the home’s residents, “broken down by sex,” for him to pick up the next day.
“The woman frowned,” Ward said, “then after a moment said, ‘I’m certain it’s true that we’ve had a few residents broken down by alcohol, but I don’t think we’ve had any broken down by sex.'”
Ward used the anecdote to make a point about the Census that always seems relevant.
“Every time the Census rolls around every 10 years, there is always some uncertainty about what it is and what information the Census wants,” he said.
In his role as the state’s Complete Count chairman, Ward travels the state speaking to groups to raise awareness of the Census and its importance. He also uses those appearances to clear up misconceptions about the Census.
“You’re probably wondering what’s going to be asked,” Ward said. “It might be even more helpful for me to tell you what you won’t be asked because people are often suspicious when the federal government comes around asking questions.”
The Census does not, he said, ask questions about Social Security numbers, banking or credit card information, money, donations or political affiliation.
“You will not be asked about your status as a citizen,” he said. “Last year, there was a good bit of news about that. President (Donald) Trump wanted to ask about citizenship status, which had never been part of the Census before. The federal courts ruled against it, so there’s no need to get bogged down with that.”
The only demographics the Census asks about are age, sex and race, he said.
“What the Census will ask is the number of people living in the household as of April 1, when the count actually begins,” Ward said. “You’ll be asked each person’s name, sex, date of birth and race. This data is important to understand who lives in the United States.”
Ward said collecting an accurate count of U.S. residents helps establish how many representatives each state has in the U.S. Congress. It is also used to established city wards and county districts for local election purposes.
But the biggest impact of the Census is on federal funds. The federal government uses Census data to determine how $675 billion will be dispersed annually through dozens of federal programs, everything from education and health care to infrastructure.
Because of that, Ward said, the Census has an effect on every resident.
“The estimate is that one person represents $5,000 annually,” he said. “And since the Census happens once every 10 years, that means one person will represent $50,000 in spending before the next Census is taken.
“Looking around this room, I’m estimating there are 75 people here,” Ward continued. “If somehow everyone in this room disappeared it would mean a loss of $3.75 million over the next 10 years. So that’s how important the Census is.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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