Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico
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| Wilson: Stand Up and Be Counted |
April 06, 2000 |
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Many counties in New Mexico lagging far behind response goals
WASHINGTON, DC – As the deadline for mailing in census forms nears, Congresswoman Heather Wilson today urges the people of New Mexico to stand up and be counted. Census 2000 is underway and the Census Bureau is asking people to mail their census forms no later than tomorrow, April 7th.
“Full participation in the census is critical for New Mexico’s future and I urge all New Mexicans to mail in their census forms today,” said Wilson. “Nearly $200 billion of federal, state and local funding is dispensed based on information gathered in the census. These funds go to education, roads, health care and other vital programs that benefit all New Mexicans. Please take a few minutes to fill out the census form and mail it in today. This is far too important for us to ignore.
“A high mail response rate will reduce the cost of the census. Failure to mail in your census form means that a census worker will have to visit your home to get the census information. This is far more costly than simply filling out the forms and mailing them back,” continued Wilson.
As of April 3, mail response rates have fallen well short of Census Bureau goals. The following figures reflect those goals, and the actual response rates to date from counties in the 1st Congressional District and population centers across the state:
County Return Goal
Rate
Bernalillo 53% 66%
Sandoval 56% 80%
Santa Fe 46% 63%
Torrance 35% 70%
Valencia 50% 57%
Doña Ana 49% 65%
San Juan 52% 64%
State Wide 50% 67%
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