16,726 Mainers not counted in last census

PORTLAND – More than 16,000 Mainers were among the roughly 3.2 million people overlooked across the nation in the 2000 census, according to government estimates released Friday.

The new estimates show 1.3 percent of Mainers, or 16,726, were not counted in the original 2000 census. Under the revision, Maine’s population for 2000 was changed to 1,291,649.

The U.S. Census Bureau, which used statistical sampling for the new data, released the information after a federal court ordered it to do so. The agency says the figures are flawed and that they don’t have any official use.

But some Democrats and civil rights groups have disagreed. They’ve contended that a state-by-state analysis would show that minorities and children were most likely to be missed during the census count.

In Maine, three of the four biggest undercounts on a percentage basis were in American Indian communities.

In Passamaquoddy Indian Township, 5.5 percent of residents were overlooked, followed by Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point, where 4.7 percent were overlooked. The Penobscot’s Indian Island ranked fourth, at 4.1 percent.

In sheer numbers, the greatest number of residents – 1,088 – were overlooked in Portland, the state’s biggest city. Second was Bangor where 466 people were overlooked and third was Lewiston with 428.

Thomas Allen, a researcher in resources, economics and policy at the University of Maine, said he would want to look at the new numbers because his research focuses on economics and demographics.

The 1.3 percent undercount for the entire state might not be significant but the changes could be more important, for example, if they affected rural towns to a greater extent than urban areas, he said.

“I’ll look at it to see where the changes occurred. If anything significant pops up, I may well review it,” he said.

The Census Bureau was not happy about releasing the data, which was based on research last year.

Preston Jay Waite, an associate census director, said additional research since then shows the national net undercount may have been reduced to less than one-tenth of 1 percent.