Mrs.PatsFanInVa

GOP continues to send out "Census Document"

Washington households have received a Republican National Committee fund-raiser labeled "Census Document" even though Congress passed a law seeking to ban such misleading documents.

The mailer comes with a capitalized message on the envelope: "DO NOT DESTROY/OFFICIAL DOCUMENT", saying it contains a "Census Document," while inside would-be givers are asked to answer questions about their political views.


The "2010 Congressional District Census" was sent out April 12, after Congress passed a law designed to head off fake Census mailings.

The law, passed 416-0 by the U.S. House of Representatives, requires mailings marked "Census" declare the name and address of the sender out the outside of the envelope, and contain an unambiguous disclaimer that the mailing does not come from the government.

GOP continues to send out "Census Document"

khayos

oh please, I've been getting these for awhile now from the RNC. It clearly states where it's from.

apple strudel

So it's just an obvious scam, and that's OK, right?

khayos

It's not a scam -- this is partisan people over-reacting based on partisanship.

apple strudel

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PatsFanInMaine

Here is the mailer. Judge for yourself.

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-s...rcc_census.pdf

Mrs.PatsFanInVa

It's the envelope it comes in that's at question, isn't it?

Mrs.PatsFanInVa

Here's a better explanation of what's being done to circumvent the new law forbidding mail which looks as though it's connected to the official census.



OKLAHOMA CITY -- A fundraising letter being sent out by the Republican Party has caused confusion with this year's Census because the letters are being mistaken for the census forms.

The letters are being sent about by the Republican National Committee, not Oklahoma's Republican Party, but the party in Oklahoma admitted there are problems with the letters.

"I look at this, and I think it's intentionally misleading. They're trying to use trickery to make people open a fundraising mailer," said Karina Henderson, Oklahoma Democratic Party.

The Republican National Committee mailer even asks recipients to answer questions like the census form, but on the back, it asks for donations, something the Census doesn't ask for.

Even Oklahoma's Republican Party acknowledged the letters can be confusing.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill a few weeks ago to stop the letters. The bill stated if an organization puts the word Census on a mailer it must also include a disclaimer saying it was not a government document.

But the RNC found a loophole in the measure. Now the envelope has a clear plastic window so the word Census can be seen on the document inside.

The Census bureau said they've had some calls about the mailers.

Republican Fundraising Letters Causing Census Confusion - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

PatsFanInMaine

You mean the one addressed from the NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE ?

Mrs.PatsFanInVa

I mean the one that says, "2010 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CENSUS" and has a "Census Tracking Code" that's not from the Census Bureau.

Republicans Send Out a ?Census? Form?That?s Really a Fundraiser

Here's a PDF of the envelope and a complaint made:

http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/NebDemMailer.pdf

Apparently it's not that they didn't have the words "National Republican" on it in small letters that makes it illegal - it's that is continues to use the words "CENSUS" and "OFFICAL DOCUMENT" in large letters that pushes the recently created law either to or past it's limits.