Many question whether the House of Representatives has the right to sue over the plan. Which is to say, not much is clear. Whether the Census Bureau is allowed to estimate a portion of the population has crucial implications. But the bureau says it is impossible to locate and count every single person. Some people do not fill out questionnaires or answer the door when a census-taker calls.
Some people are homeless or on the move.
And poor people and minorities tend to get missed the most, studies show. So this time, the bureau wants to use a method of statistical sampling in addition to its traditional head count. They also contend that the sampling method is open to political manipulation and would artificially inflate traditionally Democratic strongholds at the expense of Republican locales. Defending the administration's plan, Solicitor General Seth P. Waxman said the sampling method is the best way to determine the number of people in each state. Waxman said the method has been endorsed by the nation's leading scientists.