LANSING, Mich. — The federal government is getting ready to hold another census.
The National Republican Party is also having its own census.
But several people in mid-Michigan say they're confused after getting a letter saying President Donald Trump requested a census of every congressional district to be done right away.
It's causing confusion because the letter isn't coming from the government.
"It looks like a census letter. It's got your name on it, 'don't destroy,' a lot of tracking numbers," said Paul Burry, who received the letter. "The first letter says it is a 2020 congressional census. That got my attention."
The U.S. Census Bureau is getting ready to conduct the 2020 census.
This year is also an election year and the Republican Party is looking for support for President Donald Trump.
That's why Burry, who describes himself as independent, thinks the GOP should've worded the questionnaire differently.
"Could be confusing to a lot of groups of people, some who are already intimidated by the government and not sure about the census," he said.
The RNC told Fox 47 the mailers are clearly marked that they are from the Republican National Committee.
Kurk Prater noticed that and still filled out the questionnaire.
"I'm interested to see what they are going to do with it, see if I get anything else and follow up, see what they'll do with it or report on it," he said.
The self-proclaimed Democrat said he was surprised to get the letter in the mail.
"I didn't even know they were doing censuses on their own or questioning Republicans," Prater said.
He urges people to make sure they read every document carefully.
"People need to understand the census, the United States census isn't coming out for quite awhile. They haven't even picked out all the census takers," said Prater.
The mailers are being sent out nationwide.
The U.S. Census Bureau said it will be sending out several surveys this year.
Most of them are asking about households or businesses.
You can expect to see those in your mailbox in about a month.
The Baltimore Sun is reporting the Democratic National Committee is also sending out similar surveys.
There haven't been any reports of those mailers here in Michigan.
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