According to the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, members of the House of “Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State.” Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution requires a census every 10 years to provide an accurate count of each state’s population.
In the next few days, each of us will receive a census document in the mail. It is critical that we accurately fill them out and return them with the certain knowledge that all answers will be kept strictly confidential. Options for responding online have been added as well.
Having every resident of Salt Lake County and Utah counted in the census is important. If we are not fully counted, it could easily result in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal money due our community that would then be given to another state.
Salt Lake County and its member cities, for example, receive large sums of money for public health care, drug and substance abuse treatment, mental health services, low- and moderate-income housing, homelessness, mass transit, roads, law enforcement, recreation, etc. Our programs for such would be much smaller without this federal assistance.
These dollars are apportioned to us based, in part, on population. A smaller population count means less money, pure and simple.
In addition, congressional, state senate, state representative, county council and many city council district boundaries are adjusted according to the population counts in the census. All of us want fair representation based on the principle of one person, one vote. An accurate census helps ensure that this is the case.
This means that participation in the census matters and is part of our civic duty. It ensures that we receive our fair share of federal funding and that legislative seats are fairly apportioned.
When we receive our letters from the Bureau of the Census, it is our duty to complete them accurately, knowing that doing so will benefit our community.
Richard Snelgrove
Salt Lake County Councilman at-Large