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In translating the word "census" into Vietnamese, the US Census Bureau used the phrase dieu tra. Not only does it mean “investigation," the phrase also has unfortunate connotations of criminal activity and totalitarian repression. While it's too late to change the wording—paper copies of the census are already in the mail—this is just the latest example of how a simple headcount, albeit a colossal one, can inadvertently rub an awful lot of people the wrong way.

According to Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution, the US population must be recounted every ten years. But any count so huge is bound to be inexact. The Census Bureau's task every decade is to keep the inaccuracy to a minimum. And what’s at stake in the big picture is not only states' Congressional representation (and thus the number of votes in the Electoral College), but also their proportional share of federal funding. How many federal dollars are showered on a region depends to a very large degree on how many people live there.

But already the controversies are mounting.

Wasting taxpayers' money: The Bureau has undertaken an extensive, multi-million-dollar ad campaign this year—at public expense, of course. Many taxpayers are upset, but the buck starts with them: the ad campaign (“We Can't Move Forward Until You Mail It Back!”) was created because so few people filled out and returned their Census forms in 2000.

Fear of minority under-representation: Even with the extensive outreach, both Asian and African-American advocacy groups have voiced concern that Census advertising needs to be more extensively directed at minorities. A Hispanic advocacy group in Texas is also concerned about the lack of a coordinated effort to encourage Hispanic citizens to complete the form and mail it in.

What to do with inmates: A large segment of the population of Cook County, Illinois—literally tens of thousands—is housed (temporarily or permanently) in surrounding counties, including Dixon and Vindalia. They are prisoners. All three of these counties are petitioning to get the inmates in question counted within their own populations. Like many Census battles, this one is ostensibly about funding, but the underlying issues involve political power and influence. Sixty percent of the inmates in Illinois are black, and the NAACP, along with other groups and some individuals, are concerned that scattering the minority population over multiple counties will weaken the political power of those minorities.

…And college students: The stakes are high for colleges and universities. Census figures are used to determine handouts of federal tuition grants and loans. This year, students living away from home will be mailed their own Census forms. Census tables are springing up on campuses, and students are encouraged by giveaways and contests to fill out the forms. States are also closely monitoring students' participation rates, especially those states on the cusp of gaining or losing Congressional representation.

The homeless, and undocumented workers: The Census simply counts who is in the country during the weeks surrounding April 1, 2010, National Census Day. There is no requirement to have a residence or to have legal status. But counting people who often are wary, or even frightened, of being counted is a challenge. Census takers are working with outreach groups, taking to the streets and going into homeless shelters.

How to even define “home”: The definition has actually gotten a bit more slippery this year. In defining “household,” the Census aims to tabulate the number of people who live in a residence “most of the time”—thus considering it “home.” But what about multiple generations gathered under one roof because of foreclosure and job loss? If you think of home as the condo that’s been snatched by the bank, and your furniture is in storage while you’re temporarily bunking in your childhood bedroom—what is your true place of residence?

Estimation: When census-takers cannot gain access to the number of tenants in a particular building, they use what’s called hot-deck imputation: estimating its number by using the number of tenants in the nearest similar building as a reference. Since it is often used to estimate populations in affordable housing and city projects, it typically gives minorities a small bump in numbers. Hot-deck imputation often polarizes opinions along political lines: its supporters are often liberal; its opponents, usually conservative, cite it as an example of gerrymandering or, more generally, of number-fudging.

Religious references: A privately-funded census poster, designed by the National Association of Elected Latino Officials and distributed to thousands of churches, encourages citizens to participate in the Census just like Joseph and Mary did, because “this is how Jesus was born.” The statement—a problematic reference to the gospel of Luke—has elicited strong protest.

Privacy concerns: Many people worry that the Census, particularly the in-depth “long form,” invades their privacy. What they may not realize is that personal information given during a Census is so secure that by law no one outside the Census Bureau, not even the CIA or the FBI, can gain access to it for 72 years.

Not enough counters: Every decade, hundreds of thousands of people are hired temporarily by the Census Bureau to help complete the count. This year, even with the economic downturn, the Bureau is having a hard time finding enough temporary workers to fill all its positions.