County to Join Suit Seeking Census Revision

County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to join a suit challenging the Bush Administration’s decision not to adjust the 1990 U.S. Census to account for 5.3 million people who were missed. Census officials estimated that about 4.6% of the nearly 9 million people in Los Angeles County were overlooked.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher announced Monday that the census count would not be changed because the revision, based on statistical formulas and population estimates, might produce new errors. But civil rights groups and big-city politicians contend the undercount was especially glaring in urban areas.

Under a proposed settlement of a lawsuit filed by Los Angeles, New York and other U.S. cities challenging the census, Mosbacher had until Monday to decide on an adjustment. County Counsel DeWitt Clinton said it is uncertain whether that suit will be resurrected or a new suit filed.