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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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Census Bureau Downgrades Back to Paper

Hand-held computers won't be ready for 2010; count's costs rise

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(Newser) – The 2010 US census was meant to be a high-tech affair, NextGov.com reports, but the Census Bureau today ditched plans to use hand-held computers. The agency will return to plain old paper after "a lack of effective communication" derailed efforts by Harris Corp. to come up with devices to record data from the estimated 1 million who don't mail back their forms.

The devices will still be used to update household addresses, but officials will gather data door-to-door on the old forms, AP reports. The extra 600,000 workers necessary to do the paperwork may bump the total cost of the constitutionally mandated census to $14.5 billion, the most expensive in history.

Chart shows program cost, housing units and cost per housing unit of the census from 1970 to 2010; 2c x 2 3/8 inches; 96.3 mm x 60.3 mm
Chart shows program cost, housing units and cost per housing unit of the census from 1970 to 2010; 2c x 2 3/8 inches; 96.3 mm x 60.3 mm   (AP Photo)
The new census was meant to be completed on handheld devices, but communication and technical difficulties mean the 2010 census will still use paper forms.
The new census was meant to be completed on handheld devices, but communication and technical difficulties mean the 2010 census will still use paper forms.   (Shutterstock)
US Commerce Secreatary Carlos Gutierrez cited
US Commerce Secreatary Carlos Gutierrez cited "lack of effective communication with one of our key contractors" for derailing plans for handheld computers to be used for the 2010 census.   (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
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