A "Republican census form" sent out as a fund-raising move is angering politicians, and is getting called a Republican census scam. The census letter sent out by the Republican party asks for personal political opinions also as money now for the party. The Republican census scam is not new, but this year it might violate a law signed on April 7.

Deception is the intent of Republican census form

The Republican census form that has been mailed out is dated April 12. Given that the Republican census form uses phrases such as "Census tracking code," "Census document registered to" and "OFFICIAL DOCUMENT, Don't DESTROY," it looks very similar to official U.S. Census forms. Many are saying this is a Republican census scam. Think Progress.org posted the Georgia copy of the Republican census form, and Political quotes "a Republican operative familiar with the program" as saying:

"Of course, duping people is the point. ... That's one of the reasons why it works so well. ...They will likely mail millions this year (with) incredible targeting.”

Legal challenges to Republican census scam

For years, the Republican census letters are used as a fund-raising tool. Senators requested the Postmaster General investigate these Republican census letters ten years ago. The result of that investigation was that because the Republican census letters did not use a seal or official "U.S. Census Bureau" name, they did not violate the law. However, the House passed a law that President Obama signed on April 7 that specifically banned mailers that were "designed to confuse recipients". Many senators have asked John Potter, the Postmaster General, to investigate the mailers.

Is the law violated with the Republican census letter?

You will find numerous criteria that the Republican census letters must meet to be legal under the April 7 law. The sender and return address must be clearly indicated on any envelope marked "census". The integrated Republican census letter must include disclaimers that specifically spell out they're not affiliated with the federal government. It appears the Republican census letters which were sent out on April 12 do not contain these elements, meaning that they're technical illegal.

What is your opinion of these letters? Are these letters a Republican census scam or are they legitimate fund-raising letters?

Sources for the article

TPM

The Plum Line

Politico