Editorial: Make sure you count

It won't cost you a dime to fill out and return the Census form that arrived in mailboxes this week. Failure to return the forms, however, can be a costly mistake — and not just because residents can be fined for refusing to comply with the "enumeration" mandated in the Constitution. An analysis shows that one fourth of North Carolina's counties are at a high risk of losing millions of dollars in future federal funding because a significant portion of their residents will not mail back a completed Census form.

Fortunately, Rowan is not among the most lax participants — although its mail-in return rate certainly could be improved. In the analysis by Democracy North Carolina, Rowan's return rate ranked 51st among the state's 100 counties, right in the middle of the pack. The ratings are based on the mail-back rate for previous head counts and on the portion of residents who typically have low response rates, such as families living in poverty or in substandard housing.

Robeson ranks as the county with the highest risk of losing money, followed by Duplin, Edgecombe, Scotland, Bladen, Vance, Halifax, Columbus, Hoke and Sampson. Democracy North Carolina Director Bob Hall notes that for every 1,000 residents not counted, a county could lose $1.5 million a year for school programs, health care, job training, housing, senior centers and more.

A significant undercount doesn't merely affect specific counties. The state as a whole also has a lot at stake. In addition to affecting the distribution of more than $400 billion annually in federal funds, the count also determines each state's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and the size of Congressional districts. And the higher the rate of return for mail-in forms, the fewer resources will be required to go door-to-door in the follow-up phase. For every 1 percentage point increase in mail returns of the Census form, taxpayers save about $85 million in cost of sending Census takers out onto the street to collect information.

A recent Pew Research poll found that as many as 10 percent of the public may not respond to the Census. Reasons for not returning the forms ranged from doubts that the information would be kept confidential to sheer indifference to the whole process, with Hispanics and young adults among those least likely to mail their forms back. How important is the census? It's about the only thing Congress has been able to agree on recently. In a rare moment of bipartisanship, the House voted 409-1 in favor of a resolution urging Census participation, with Texas Rep. Ron Paul the lone dissenter.

Filling out the Census form takes only a few minutes, and it's one of our duties as citizens. It's a small civic obligation with large implications for everyone.