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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Huffington Post: Conservative boycott of the US census failed

HOPE YEN | 08/10/10 06:09 AM | AP

WASHINGTON — With the 2010 census nearly finished, the government said Tuesday it will save $1.6 billion in the cost of the U.S. population count. The government got strong public response and had no major problems.

The cost of the census was originally budgeted at $14.7 billion. Emergency dollars were approved for additional outreach in cases such as a natural disaster, a flu epidemic or a major operational breakdown.

Because such problems were not extensive, the Census Bureau saved money, officials said. The agency, which is a part of the Commerce Department, also reduced costs due to a higher-than-expected mail response rate of 72 percent and quick field work from census takers who visited homes of people who did not reply by mail.

The Census Bureau said it was still conducting checks on the accuracy of its data, which will be used to distribute House seats and more than $400 billion in federal aid. Results will be released at the end of the year.

Threats of a major boycott from conservatives protesting big government and immigrants wary of law enforcement ultimately did little to disrupt the once-a-decade head count.

Census officials attributed that in part to targeted advertising in hard-to-count areas of the U.S., as well as partnerships with civic groups to help boost awareness of the count.

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