Interesting Op-Ed from the LA Times…
Though this issue hasn’t been discussed for a few months now, an op-ed in the LA Times questions why illegal immigrants are counted in the 2010 Census, thus altering Congressional apportionment, if they don’t have the right to vote.
May 30th, 2010 at 6:24 am
I count everyone – just write down exactly what the respondent tells me.
May 30th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Should women not have been counted in the Census until they were given the right to vote 100 years ago? Should we not count children? Are you even serious?
May 30th, 2010 at 11:17 am
Counting prisoners where they are incarcerated rather than where their home is results in counties which contain prisons unfairly getting more money and greater representation. Prisoners can’t vote either.
May 30th, 2010 at 11:18 am
No, I don’t think it’s a matter of “should” or “shouldn’t” — it’s just that it’s true, since illegals can’t vote, why count them, when that count is used to determine representation?
May 30th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
So, everyone under 18 can’t vote. In 1970, if I am correct, under 21 couldn’t vote. When did it start that only voters were counted? Heck, even slaves were counted. Now does the writer think we are just supposed to count voting age? How about non-registered voters? This is just stupid.
May 30th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Regardless of whether illegal immigrants can vote, they do use the community services, roads, hospitals, schools, etc. Regardless of their status in the country, the communities in which they live still would benefit from the extra representation. The communities by which are represented would have to deal with the extra population. Not counting people who live in a certain district would make the count incredibly inaccurate. Asking someone’s legal status within the country would likely make people more hostile than they already are.
May 30th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
Thank you Communeration, your explanation of this puzzling situation makes sense.
May 31st, 2010 at 4:18 am
[...] former Mother Jones colleague, Kevin Drum, has written a response to the recent LA Times opinion piece that suggested illegal immigrants shouldn’t be counted in the 2010 Cens… since they can’t [...]