This prohibition even includes placing posters on a community information bulletin board. The implications of such a policy on Idahoans and citizens living in communities across the country, particularly those in rural areas, are dramatic. Everyone agrees on the importance of an accurate census. I could not agree more. One of the sharpest criticisms lodged against the Census Bureau concerns the accuracy of its data.
Rural populations are frequently undercounted.
As one of the nation's most rural states, Idaho suffers serious consequences when its rural residents do not get counted. A total of 165 federal domestic assistance programs rely on census data to determine distribution and availability of monies. It affects funding flowing to schools for special education, Native American education, support services for severely disabled children, Medicaid funding, and transportation and infrastructure monies. This is just to name a few. Communities in Idaho and every other rural state should not be penalized through undercounting.