Hispanics may be at fault for lagging response

The U.S. Census has released information stating Ohio is one of many states who are behind in mailing their census surveys. Cleveland has been marked as one of the slowest responding states in the country at 32 percent. Cincinnati and Columbus are marked at 39 percent. Statistics such as this have been “concerning” to Census director Robert Groves.

It has been widely reported that native born Hispanics are very skeptical about filling out the census. Even if it takes only ten minutes, and consist of just ten questions, many are fearful the federal government will use the information for incriminating purposes, even though census officials have repeatedly stated that is not the case.

According to the Pew Hispanic Research Center, Ohio has approximately 296,000 Hispanic residents, which has gone up since 2003 (212,000). This sharp increase has a direct correlation with the lack of survey responders. That is, as the number of Hispanics has grown with the state, so has the number of non-responders toward the survey.

Cuyahoga, Franklin, and Hamilton counties are home to Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati respectively. These three cities have large Hispanic populations which is certainly a factor in the reasoning of why these cities are behind.

The Census is conducted every 10 years for the purpose of allocating government funds and to figure out the number of House Representatives to be awarded to Congress. Currently Ohio has 16 House members in Congress, but many political forecasters say that number will go down to 14.

It is vital that every citizen fill out the form correctly. Census officials estimate that under representation of a state’s population could cause the state to miss out on 40 million dollars in a single year. Ohio is one of the states hardest hit by the economy, it is important that we all fill out the survey and mail it in so we can receive the funding we are meant to have.

If the survey is not received by the Census bureau by May, a representative will be going door to door. These representatives are trained to assist with the survey. They are not going to ask to enter your home, and identification will be shown by the representative.