BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Sixty-two percent of the households in
Louisiana had returned their 2010 census forms by mail Wednesday, a
number lower than the 2000 census total of 65 percent, according to
U.S. Census Bureau data.
The Louisiana response rate was lower than the national number,
which was 71 percent Wednesday, according to the census data.
This week is the last week mailed back forms are processed, U.S.
Census Bureau officials said in a news release.
Although the state number is lower than the national percentage,
LSU sociology professor and demographer Troy Blanchard said it's
impressive that the numbers are so close to participation in 2000
based on what has occurred over the past decade.
Blanchard said considering the events of the past 10 years
including the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, two wars, the
increased amount of identity theft, and other ways people's
personal information has been hacked into through computers, it's a
testament to the U.S. Census Bureau that participation is so high.
"The fact the numbers are so close shows there is a certain
amount of trust from people in the census," Blanchard said.
Residents who have not mailed back their census forms by now
will receive a visit from a census worker, said U.S. Census Bureau
spokeswoman Andrea A. Loyola.
Loyola said Louisiana residents can expect visits as early as
May 1.
"We are trying to concentrate our efforts on weekends and
during the early evenings during the week," Loyola said.
Census workers can be identified by their U.S. Census Bureau
bags and badges, Loyola said.

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