The IO—For the first time in history, the White House plans to meddle in the next census scheduled for 2010. The U.S. Bureau of the Census has traditionally reported to the Secretary of Commerce. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) withdrew from consideration as Obama’s commerce secretary after learning that the 44^th president was planning to "hijack" the 2010 census. "The way it was explained to me was that the Census would still report to the Commerce secretary but the White House wanted to have a major interest in the census process also," Sen. Gregg said.

The outcome of the census has a variety of vital political implications. It can determine where federal resources will be sent, where they won’t be sent and can lead to redrawing legislative districts.

House Republicans sent a letter to Obama urging him to reconsider his plan, calling it an "unprecedented politicization of the census" and stating: "There is no legitimate historical precedent for placing the nonpartisan, apolitical Census Bureau under the control of political operatives on the White House staff."

The Obama administration has apparently chosen to ignore the Republicans. On March 13, 2009, FOX News reported that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has signed up as a "partner" with the Census Bureau and some 250 other civic groups to hire an army of 1.4 million temporary workers to count Americans (and inventory their homes and possessions).

"But ACORN’s partnership with the 2010 Census is worrisome to lawmakers because past allegations of fraud should raise concerns about the organization," FOX News reported.

The group’s voter registration promotion activities were frequently questioned in locations all over the nation during the 2008 election. One ACORN employee was found guilty of making 29 phony voter registration forms in Pennsylvania and the state of Washington filed felony charges against several ACORN managers and employees for some 1,700 phony voter registration forms (ACORN settled by paying the state $25,000).

ACORN was formed in 1970 and has over 850 neighborhood chapters in 100 cities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Peru. Though ACORN claims to be "non-partisan," it is decidedly a "liberal" or "left-wing" organization that champions "progressive" causes with a zeal that is commonly confused with political partisanship.