"Tea Party" activists are leading a campaign featuring elaborate conspiracy theories urging Americans to defy the federal government by declining to return their 2010 Census form.
In previous Censuses, the main problem was reaching difficult-to-enumerate populations, such as the homeless. This year the greatest difficulty may lie in overcoming a deliberate campaign of misinformation about the Census itself, and how it would be misused by the Federal government. According to the Huffington Post,
"For months, right-wing activists and politicians have been criticizing the Census and urging people not to return their census forms. The anti-census rhetoric grew so heated that three Republican congressmen publicly chastised fellow Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) last year for declaring that she would not fill out her census form. But evidence suggests that some conservatives are sympathetic to the message.
The stakes are high: census data is used to allocate billions in federal funds, divvy up new congressional districts, and assign Electoral College votes that determine a state's influence in presidential elections."
The article includes a slide show highlighting "Census conspiracy theories" including using Census information to intern Americans, confiscate their property and abet U.S. occupation by United Nations troops.
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