About 6-in-10 U.S. citizens age 18 and over voted in the last presidential election in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Did the rate increase, decrease or stay the same in this year’s election held on Nov. 2?

     The Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Survey (CPS), dating from 1942 and the longest-running household survey in the country, will yield an answer to this and many other questions about our nation’s 2004 voting habits.

     “The survey is collecting information on rates of voting and registration by a variety of characteristics, such as race, Hispanic origin and age,” said James Holmes, director of the Census Bureau’s Atlanta Regional Office. “The Census Bureau collects these data in the CPS every other November.”

     Each month, during the survey, Census Bureau field representatives also ask selected households questions relevant to characteristics of the U.S. labor force, including employment status, hours of work, earnings, age, sex, race, marital status, educational attainment, occupation and industry. From their answers come estimates of the unemployment rate — released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

     By law, all information that could identify survey respondents or their households is confidential. Prior to the survey, local households selected in the nationwide sample receive a letter from Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. Some are interviewed by telephone and others in person. The field representatives carry official identification cards.

     Sponsored by the BLS and the Census Bureau, the CPS will be conducted during the week of Nov. 14, 2004, when nearly 2,000 Census Bureau field representatives will interview about 78,000 households.

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