The Hard Count: The Political and Social Challenges of Census Mobilization

Chapter Four: Census Cooperation: Community and Household

96 Chapter Four CENSUS COOPERATION IS often described as a form of civic engagement. In the media attention surrounding the 2000 census, the decennial count was routinely characterized as a “civic ceremony,” one that differs from voting in its nonpartisanship but is similar to voting in that it is a social-political duty that provides important community goods. Because of these parallels, it has long been assumed that the determinants of census cooperation and political participation are similar. Most notably, journalists and scholars have assumed that community involvement (or social capital) predicts census cooperation much as it predicts other forms of civic engagement. In other words, the individuals who vote in elections, volunteer in community organizations, and participate in charitable activities should be more likely to cooperate with the census because of their feelings of civic duty and their commitment to the welfare of their communities. If this assumption is confirmed, we can extrapolate that the long-term decline in community participation has depressed census cooperation and will continue to do so, and consequently, the Census Bureau should focus future mobilization and information campaigns on civic engagement considerations, perhaps borrowing strategies from voter mobilization campaigns. On the other hand, a finding that census participation is not predicted by the same community involvement factors that predict political participation would raise questions about theories of civic mobilization and alter the strategies available to the Census Bureau in its efforts to promote cooperation. The surprising finding is that the relationship between community involvement and census participation is not as strong or straightforward as has been generally assumed. Although community involvement is a strong predictor of other forms of civic participation—namely voting—we find almost no relationship between community involvement and census participation. Rather, we find that basic characteristics of the household more Census Cooperation: Community and Household Census Cooperation: Community and Household 97 strongly predict census mail-back cooperation. This finding has tremendous implications for future censuses. Community involvement can be mobilized and motivated—as was made apparent by the increase in voter turnout in the 2004 presidential election and the spike in charitable contributions and blood donations following the tragedies of September 11, 2001. In contrast, the composition of American households is largely out of the hands of political leaders and policymakers. Changing trends in household and family composition present a difficult challenge to the Census Bureau that will need to be addressed in future censuses. CENSUS COOPERATION AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT As discussed in chapter 2, the core message of the 2000 census campaign was focused on community-based benefits, such as better targeting of government funds to needy areas for schools, day care, and other services (Citro et al. 2004, 107).1 In developing this message, the Census Bureau drew on research indicating that participation in the census, like participation in politics, is affected by an individual’s attachment to and sense of civic duty toward the society at large (Bates and Buckley 2000; Couper et al. 1998). Later the Census Bureau commissioned a study of civic attitudes and census cooperation on the premise that census participation is motivated by the same sense of civic duty that predicts community involvement (Crowley 2003, 1). This study concludes that “individuals who engage in civic activities—such as voting, volunteering at soup kitchens and joining political advocacy groups—will most likely participate in Census surveys.” Following from that assumption, the report recommends a community-based slogan for the 2010 Census: “Be counted in your community so that you can count on your community. Return your 2010 Census form” (23). The report recommends that future promotional materials for the census “emphasize making a difference through Census participation in one’s local community” because participation in the decennial census “is an easy way in which a generation can give back to the community while empowering the community” (vii–viii). This recommendation echoes the sentiments of Robert Putnam (2000, 142), who has suggested that the decline in census cooperation can be attributed to an overall decline in community involvement in American society . Referencing the disappointing 1990 census cooperation rate, Putnam concludes that cooperation was lowest among those detached from community institutions.2 On the eve of the 2000 census, he reiterated that census cooperation “is a function of whether [persons] are connected to their communities.” Putnam explains: “Basically, there are growing numbers of Americans who are not connected to their communities in...