Hoffman Estates Voter Says She Was Misled By Republican Questionnaire

CHICAGO (CBS)--As Election Day draws nearer, voters may have noticed the increasingly heavy flow of junk mail and political flyers filling their mailboxes in recent weeks.

With all that politically-fueled mail, it's not always easy to decipher which campaigns the mail comes from.

A woman from suburban Hoffman Estates says she's not happy with how one political party tried to get her to donate.

Victoria Miller says she opened what she describes as an 'official-looking' envelope that recently arrived in her mailbox.

"On the top, it had said 2019 Congressional District Census. Naturally, I thought it was from the government, and that I had to go ahead and complete what it was," Miller said.

A married mother of two, Miller said she wants to be a good citizen, so she started to review the questions in the enclosed survey.

"I knew in the back of my mind that the official census actually would be out in 2020," she said.

So she began to look at the papers with a more discerning eye.

The four-page letter had a due date, and the text stressed that the document was required to be returned by a certain due date.

Miller, a registered Democrat, quickly realized the paperwork came from the Republican National Committee.

The letter asked questions about current issues, and requested donations.

"If you were first looking at it, you would think, no matter what, I have to either make a donation to the Republican Party or pay $15 in order to cover the cost of the census," Miller said. "This was something that was very sneaky."

The Morning Insiders wanted to see how the Democratic Survey matched up.

Both surveys ask questions biased toward their party, and both ask for donations.

Each party's letter differs in presentation, including the titles of the survey.

The envelope from the Democrats says "Official Party Business" as opposed to "Official Document" from the Republicans.

RNC officials said the mailers are marked in a clear way, and said the surveys are mailed out every year and receive an overwhelming response.