The oversized envelopes hitting Tucson mailboxes certainly looks official, with the directions "do not destroy official document" printed in all caps in the upper left corner.
Inside, the four-page mailing from the Republican National Committee explains to luck recipients of the "official" mailer that "President Trump has requested that a Census of every Congressional District must be conducted immediately."
It isn't until the 10th paragraph that the RNC hits you up for a contribution, suggesting at least $25, but "whatever you can send" to help the Republican Party underwrite this project as well as "re-elect President Trump and Republicans at all levels of government."
The mailing is not part of the decennial U.S. Census mandated by the U.S. Constitution to count the entire population or part of the lesser-known annual survey by the Census Bureau known as the American Community Survey.
The mailer attempts to capitalize on attempts by President Trump to add a citizenship question on the official census questionnaire, but his administration was blocked by a federal judge in July.
Following the decision, Trump said he would continue to fight for a legal avenue to ask the question.
A request for comment to the RNC asking about the mailer was not returned, so it is unclear how many households the "2019 Congressional District Census" was sent to - but the copy shared with the Arizona Daily Star lives in CD2.
It is also unknown how the RNC was planning on using the completed surveys if they were mailed back.
The Republican National Committee provided a pre-printed envelope to send the survey back, but it required a first class stamp.
Questions on the RNC's "survey" include:
- "Do you believe the national media has a strong bias against all things Donald Trump and Republican and fails to tell America's voters the real facts about Republican policies, principles, goals, and accomplishments?"
- "Do you think the Democrat Party as a whole is promoting a Socialist agenda for America?"
- "The recently unveiled "Green New Deal" advanced by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and many of the Democrats running for President seeks to fundamentally change how Americans would produce and consume energy, harvest crops, raise livestock, build homes, drive cars, travel throughout our country, manufacture goods, and other proposals that would drastically alter our nation, change our Way of life, and cost trillions of dollars. Do you support this plan?"
- "Do you believe more federal laws that impede individuals' Second
Amendment rights are the proper response to gun violence in our nation?"
