Taking count: Is your Census tally in the mail?

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Sure you knew this was a special day: Today is Census Day – no foolin' – and how are you celebrating? Nationally, about half of us have returned our no-frills, no-stress Census report for our household, and in the state, about 52 percent. King County is at 50 percent, Snohomish and Pierce 51, Clark 52, Whatcom 53, Yakima 54, Cowlitz and Grays Harbor 55, Thurston 56, Spokane 57, and on up to Jefferson at 60 and Columbia 61. Statewide and nationwide, the mail-back return rate 10 years ago was 72 percent. Every household that hasn't returned the form by May will be visited by – play the scary music now – an "enumerator." Think Arnold Schwarzenegger. Seriously, it saves the government, you and me, $57 for every household they don't have to track down. Secretary of State Sam Reed says the state and federal constitutions require the once-every-10-years Census, and that the nose-count is very important for fair distribution of population-based federal money. It is also used to allocate the 435 U.S. House seats – and analysts say Washington is in good shape to pick up a 10th district.