By KRWG News
New Mexico – The Census Bureau reports that nearly two-thirds of New Mexico households returned their census forms by mail.
The 65 percent mail-in participation rate for New Mexico was unchanged from the 2000 census.
Nationally, 75 percent of households filled out and mailed in their census forms for this year's population count.
The Census Bureau sent workers door to door to interview people who didn't return their questionnaires.
The population count is important to New Mexico and other states because it's used to distribute billions of dollars in federal aid and draw boundaries of congressional, legislative and other elective office districts.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.