If the errors are significant, the Census Bureau plans to release two sets of numbers in March, one of the head count, the other based on sampling. Democrats believe Congress should use the latter for redistricting and money. Outgoing Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt testified last May before a congressional subcommittee that Census 2000 probably didn't have better coverage of minorities than 1990 because the same societal factors exist today. Several National Academies of Science panels have reported that sampling would make the census more accurate. Others believe sampling contains errors and bias.
Republicans also argue that using adjusted figures for redistricting is banned by the Constitution.
The remainder, including New York, haven't decided yet. The U.S. Supreme Court already ruled that sampling couldn't be used to divide the number of congressional seats among the states. It didn't address the question of whether states could use the adjusted numbers in redrawing political boundaries or to divvy up government money. For Rockland and Westchester counties, sampling could play a major role. Many of the remaining seats are near Buffalo, Hoppe said.