The questionnaire invited people to identify themselves as mixes of up to six races, totaling 63 possible combinations. That compares with the five choices they had in 1990. That information is especially important in Colorado, where, in sheer numbers, Hispanics make up the fastest-growing group. Ethnic and racial questions aren't new to the national census. The government still asks about race because it's key to monitoring compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which protects the rights of black voters, and other civil-rights laws.
Municipalities use census data to decide how to spend tax dollars.
The city of Aurora, for example, hires two new police officers for every 1,000 residents. With so much at stake, watchdogs will be paying close attention to the accuracy of the 2000 data, especially in poor and minority areas, which have been overlooked in censuses past. Take, for example, the Mountain View Trailer Park near Leadville, home to many immigrants from Mexico and Central American countries who work at Summit and Eagle County ski resorts. None of Mountain View's 76 trailers was counted in 1990. Across U.S. 24 at Mountain View East, census workers missed 89 of 149 trailers.