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APPENDIX
Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution provides
as follows:
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several
States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective
Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free
Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding
Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration
shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress
of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in
such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall
not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least
one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State
of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight,
Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York
six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia
ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
provides as follows:
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according
to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each
State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election
for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United
States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers
of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any
of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,1 and
citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation
in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall
be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall
bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such
State.
Section 2a of Title 2, United States Code, provides as follows:
Reapportionment of Representatives; time and manner; existing decennial
census figures as basis; statement by President; duty of clerk
(a) On the first day, or within one week thereafter, of the first regular
session of the Eighty-second Congress and of each fifth Congress thereafter,
the President shall transmit to the Congress a statement showing the whole
number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed, as ascertained
under the seventeenth and each subsequent decennial census of the population,
and the number of Representatives to which each State would be entitled
under an apportionment of the then existing number of Representatives by
the method known as the method of equal proportions, no State to receive
less than one Member.
(b) Each State shall be entitled, in the Eighty-third Congress and in each
Congress thereafter until the taking effect of a reapportionment under this
section or subsequent statute, to the number of Representatives shown in
the statement required by subsection (a) of this section, no State to receive
less than one Member. It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the House of
Representatives, within fifteen calendar days after the receipt of such
statement, to send to the executive of each State a certificate of the number
of Representatives to which such State is entitled under this section. In
case of a vacancy in the office of clerk, or of his absence or inability
to discharge this duty, then such duty shall devolve upon the Sergeant at
Arms of the House of Representatives.
(c) Until a State is redistricted in the manner provided by the law thereof
after any apportionment, the Representatives to which such State is entitled
under such apportionment shall be elected in the following manner: (1) If
there is no change in the number of Representatives they shall be elected
from the districts then prescribed by the law of such State, and if any
of them are elected from the State at large they shall continue to be so
elected; (2) if there is an increase in the number of Representatives, such
additional Representative or Representatives shall be elected from the State
at large and the other Representatives from the districts then prescribed
by the law of such State; (3) if there is a decrease in the number of Representatives
but the number of districts in such State is equal to such decreased number
of Representatives, they shall be elected from the districts then prescribed
by the law of such State; (4) if there is a decrease in the number of Representatives
but the number of districts in such State is less than such number of Representatives,
the number of Representatives by which such number of districts is exceeded
shall be elected from the State at large and the other Representatives from
the districts then prescribed by the law of such State; or (5) if there
is a decrease in the number of Representatives and the number of districts
in such State exceeds such decreased number of Representatives, they shall
be elected from the State at large.
Section 141 of Title 13, United States Code, provides as follows:
Population and other census information
(a) The Secretary shall, in the year 1980 and every 10 years thereafter,
take a decennial census of population as of the first day of April of such
year, which date shall be known as the "decennial census date",
in such form and content as he may determine, including the use of sampling
procedures and special surveys. In connection with any such census, the
Secretary is authorized to obtain such other census information as necessary.
(b) The tabulation of total population by States under subsection (a) of
this section as required for the apportionment of Representatives in Congress
among the several States shall be completed within 9 months after the census
date and reported by the Secretary to the President of the United States.
(c) The officers or public bodies having initial responsibility for the
legislative apportionment or districting of each State may, not later than
3 years before the decennial census date, submit to the Secretary a plan
identifying the geographic areas for which specific tabulations of population
are desired. Each such plan shall be developed in accordance with criteria
established by the Secretary, which he shall furnish to such officers or
public bodies not later than April 1 of the fourth year preceding the decennial
census date. Such criteria shall include requirements which assure that
such plan shall be developed in a nonpartisan manner. Should the Secretary
find that a plan submitted by such officers or public bodies does not meet
the criteria established by him, he shall consult to the extent necessary
with such officers or public bodies in order to achieve the alterations
in such plan that he deems necessary to bring it into accord with such criteria.
Any issues with respect to such plan remaining unresolved after such consultation
shall be resolved by the Secretary, and in all cases he shall have final
authority for determining the geographic format of such plan. Tabulations
of population for the areas identified in any plan approved by the Secretary
shall be completed by him as expeditiously as possible after the decennial
census date and reported to the Governor of the State involved and to the
officers or public bodies having responsibility for legislative apportionment
or districting of such State, except that such tabulations of population
of each State requesting a tabulation plan, and basic tabulations of population
of each other State, shall, in any event, be completed, reported, and transmitted
to each respective State within one year after the decennial census date.
(d) Without regard to subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section, the
Secretary, in the year 1985 and every 10 years thereafter, shall conduct
a mid-decade census of population in such form and content as he may determine,
including the use of sampling procedures and special surveys, taking into
account the extent to which information to be obtained from such census
will serve in lieu of information collected annually or less frequently
in surveys or other statistical studies. The census shall be taken as of
the first day of April of each such year, which date shall be known as the
"mid-decade census date".
(e)(1) If-
(A) in the administration of any program established by or under Federal
law which provides benefits to State or local governments or to other recipients,
eligibility for or the amount of such benefits would (without regard to
this paragraph) be determined by taking into account data obtained in the
most recent decennial census, and
(B) comparable data is obtained in a mid-decade census conducted after such
decennial census,
then in the determination of such eligibility or amount of benefits the
most recent data available from either the mid-decade or decennial census
shall be used.
(2) Information obtained in any mid-decade census shall not be used for
apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the several States, nor
shall such information be used in prescribing congressional districts.
(f) With respect to each decennial and mid-decade census conducted under
subsection (a) or (d) of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the
committees of Congress having legislative jurisdiction over the census-
(1) not later than 3 years before the appropriate census date, a report
containing the Secretary's determination of the subjects proposed to be
included, and the types of information to be compiled, in such census;
(2) not later than 2 years before the appropriate census date, a report
containing the Secretary's determination of the questions proposed to be
included in such census; and
(3) after submission of a report under paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection
and before the appropriate census date, if the Secretary finds new circumstances
exist which necessitate that the subjects, types of information or questions
contained in reports so submitted be modified, a report containing the Secretary's
determination of the subjects, types of information, or questions as proposed
to be modified.
(g) As used in this section, "census of population" means a census
of population, housing, and matters relating to population and housing.
Section 195 of Title 13, United States Code, provides as follows:
Use of sampling
Except for the determination of population for purposes of apportionment
of Representatives in Congress among the several States, the Secretary shall,
if he considers it feasible, authorize the use of the statistical method
known as "sampling" in carrying out the provisions of this title.
Section 209 of the 1998 Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the
Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, Pub. L. No. 105-119,
111 Stat. 2480-2483 (1997), provides as follows:
(a) Congress finds that-
(1) it is the constitutional duty of the Congress to ensure that the decennial
enumeration of the population is conducted in a manner consistent with the
Constitution and laws of the United States;
(2) the sole constitutional purpose of the decennial enumeration of the
population is the apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the
several States;
(3) section 2 of the 14th article of amendment to the Constitution clearly
states that Representatives are to be "apportioned among the several
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number
of persons in each State";
(4) article I, section 2, clause 3 of the Constitution clearly requires
an "actual Enumeration" of the population, and section 195 of
title 13, United States Code, clearly provides "Except for the determination
of population for purposes of apportionment of Representatives in Congress
among the several States, the Secretary shall, if he considers it feasible,
authorize the use of the statistical method known as 'sampling' in carrying
out the provisions of this title.";
(5) the decennial enumeration of the population is one of the most critical
constitutional functions our Federal Government performs;
(6) it is essential that the decennial enumeration of the population be
as accurate as possible, consistent with the Constitution and laws of the
United States;
(7) the use of statistical sampling or statistical adjustment in conjunction
with an actual enumeration to carry out the census with respect to any segment
of the population poses the risk of an inaccurate, invalid, and unconstitutional
census;
(8) the decennial enumeration of the population is a complex and vast undertaking,
and if such enumeration is conducted in a manner that does not comply with
the requirements of the Constitution or laws of the United States, it would
be impracticable for the States to obtain, and the courts of the United
States to provide, meaningful relief after such enumeration has been conducted;
and
(9) Congress is committed to providing the level of funding that is required
to perform the entire range of constitutional census activities, with a
particular emphasis on accurately enumerating all individuals who have historically
been undercounted, and toward this end, Congress expects-
(A) aggressive and innovative promotion and outreach campaigns in hard-to-count
communities;
(B) the hiring of enumerators from within those communities;
(C) continued cooperation with local government on address list development;
and
(D) maximized census employment opportunities for individuals seeking to
make the transition from welfare to work.
(b) Any person aggrieved by the use of any statistical method in violation
of the Constitution or any provision of law (other than this Act), in connection
with the 2000 or any later decennial census, to determine the population
for purposes of the apportionment or redistricting of Members in Congress,
may in a civil action obtain declaratory, injunctive, and any other appropriate
relief against the use of such method.
(c) For purposes of this section-
(1) the use of any statistical method as part of a dress rehearsal or other
simulation of a census in preparation for the use of such method, in a decennial
census, to determine the population for purposes of the apportionment or
redistricting of Members in Congress shall be considered the use of such
method in connection with that census; and
(2) the report ordered by title VIII of Public Law 105-18 and the Census
2000 Operational Plan shall be deemed to constitute final agency action
regarding the use of statistical methods in the 2000 decennial census, thus
making the question of their use in such census sufficiently concrete and
final to now be reviewable in a judicial proceeding.
(d) For purposes of this section, an aggrieved person (described in subsection
(b)) includes-
(1) any resident of a State whose congressional representation or district
could be changed as a result of the use of a statistical method challenged
in the civil action;
(2) any Representative or Senator in Congress; and
(3) either House of Congress,
(e)(1) Any action brought under this section shall be heard and determined
by a district court of three judges in accordance with Section 2284 of title
28, United States Code. The chief judge of the United States court of appeals
for each circuit shall, to the extent practicable and consistent with the
avoidance of unnecessary delay, consolidate, for all purposes, in one district
court within that circuit, all actions pending in that circuit under this
section. Any party to an action under this section shall be precluded from
seeking any consolidation of that action other than is provided in this
paragraph. In selecting the district court in which to consolidate such
actions, the chief judge shall consider the convenience of the parties and
witnesses and efficient conduct of such actions. Any final order or injunction
of a United States district court that is issued pursuant to an action brought
under this section shall be reviewable by appeal directly to the Supreme
Court of the United States. Any such appeal shall be taken by a notice of
appeal filed within 10 days after such order is entered; and the jurisdictional
statement shall be filed within 30 days after such order is entered. No
stay of an order issued pursuant to an action brought under this section
may be issued by a single Justice of the Supreme Court.
(2) It shall be the duty of a United States district court hearing an action
brought under this section and the Supreme Court of the United States to
advance on the docket and to expedite to the greatest possible extent the
disposition of any such matter.
(f) Any agency or entity within the executive branch having authority with
respect to the carrying out of a decennial census may in a civil action
obtain a declaratory judgment respecting whether or not the use of a statistical
method, in connection with such census, to determine the population for
the purposes of the apportionment or redistricting of Members in Congress
is forbidden by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(g) The Speaker of the House of Representatives or the Speaker's designee
or designees may commence or join in a civil action, for and on behalf of
the House of Representatives, under any applicable law, to prevent the use
of any statistical method, in connection with the decennial census, to determine
the population for purposes of the apportionment or redistricting of Members
in Congress. It shall be the duty of the Office of the General Counsel of
the House of Representatives to represent the House in such civil action,
according to the directions of the Speaker. The Office of the General Counsel
of the House of Representatives may employ the services of outside counsel
and other experts for this purpose.
(h) For purposes of this section and section 210-
(1) the term "statistical method" means an activity related to
the design, planning, testing, or implementation of the use of representative
sampling, or any other statistical procedure, including statistical adjustment,
to add or subtract counts to or from the enumeration of the population as
a result of statistical inference; and
(2) the term "census" or "decennial census" means a
decennial enumeration of the population.
(i) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the use of any statistical
method, in connection with a decennial census, for the apportionment or
redistricting of Members in Congress.
(j) Sufficient funds appropriated under this Act or under any other Act
for purposes of the 2000 decennial census shall be used by the Bureau of
the Census to plan, test, and become prepared to implement a 2000 decennial
census, without using statistical methods, which shall result in the percentage
of the total population actually enumerated being as close to 100 percent
as possible. In both the 2000 decennial census, and any dress rehearsal
or other simulation made in preparation for the 2000 decennial census, the
number of persons enumerated without using statistical methods must be publicly
available for all levels of census geography which are being released by
the Bureau of the Census for: (1) all data releases before January 1, 2001;
(2) the data contained in the 2000 decennial census Public Law 94-171 data
file released for use in redistricting; (3) the Summary Tabulation File
One (STF-1) for the 2000 decennial census; and (4) the official populations
of the States transmitted from the Secretary of Commerce through the President
to the Clerk of the House used to reapportion the districts of the House
among the States as a result of the 2000 decennial census. Simultaneously
with any other release or reporting of any of the information described
in the preceding sentence through other means, such information shall be
made available to the public on the Internet. These files of the Bureau
of the Census shall be available concurrently to the release of the original
files to the same recipients, on identical media, and at a comparable price.
They shall contain the number of persons enumerated without using statistical
methods and any additions or subtractions thereto. These files shall be
based on data gathered and generated by the Bureau of the Census in its
official capacity.
(k) This section shall apply in fiscal year 1998 and succeeding fiscal years.
1 See Amendment XIX and section 1 of amendments XXVI.