Seven Counties Still Below 50 Percent Census Participation

As a Whole, New York City at 45 Percent Mail-Back Rate; Brooklyn and Queens Lag Behind

ALBANY, NY (04/06/2010)(readMedia)-- Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez announced today that seven New York counties have still yet to reach the 50 percent participation mark for the 2010 census. Bronx (47 percent), Delaware (44), Essex (47), Greene (43), Kings (39), Queens (44) and Sullivan (36) Counties have fallen behind the rest of New York's 62 counties, and the state as a whole has reached 60 percent participation.

Wyoming County in Western New York and Tioga County in the Southern Tier lead the state with 74 percent participation thus far.

"By now, New Yorkers in some of our hardest-to-count communities should have received two census forms, not to mention numerous reminders in the mail, on TV and in public transportation. The time to mail back your form is now," Secretary Cortés-Vázquez said. "We're less than a month away from the census moving from a mail operation to a door-to-door operation. Sending back your census questionnaires can only help your communities. Now is the time for all New Yorkers to talk to their friends, families and neighbors about how important it is for everyone to fill out the census."

If you have not received a form, or cannot locate it, you may pick one up at one of the hundreds of Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QAC) and Be Counted Sites (BCS) across the state. If you need assistance filling out the form, you can call one of these numbers: http://census2010.ny.gov/PDF/phonenumbers.pdf.

To view a complete list of 2010 census participation rates by state, county and community, as well as an interactive map featuring the locations of Questionnaire Assistance Centers and Be Counted Sites in New York, please visit http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map.

For more information on census updates and events in New York state, please visit www.census2010.ny.gov.

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Additional news available at http://www.dos.state.ny.us/about/new2.htm.

New York State Department of State | info@dos.state.ny.us | 518.486.9846 | 212.417.5801Follow us: http://twitter.com/NYDeptofState