Randall Akee on the Census Privacy Algorithm | The New York Times

The New York Times cited research by affiliate Randall Akee in an article about the US Census. Akee found that the proposed census privacy algorithm would drastically decrease measures of the Native American population.

“Steven Dillingham, the director of the Census Bureau, was four hours late. His charter plane had been delayed by a winter fog — common in Toksook Bay, the remote Alaskan town that he was visiting. The villagers were waiting, prepared to welcome him with a potluck and the performance of a traditional dance.

But when the flight finally touched down last month, Dr. Dillingham had business to take care of. Leaving the airstrip on the back of a snowmobile, he made straight for the home of the village’s oldest resident. There, Dr. Dillingham greeted the woman inside and officially began the government’s decennial attempt to count every person in America.

According to the 2010 census, 590 people lived in Toksook Bay. State demographers expect the total to rise by about 100 people when census results are published next year.

‘There has to be an increase in the count. We know we are growing,’ said Robert Pitka, a tribal administrator who is leading census outreach in Toksook Bay. ‘Every person matters for federal funding.’

But Toksook Bay, along with thousands of other small places around the country, may end up with an inaccurate population count.”

Source: Opinion | Changes to the Census Could Make Small Towns Disappear – The New York Times