At first glance, an official-looking letter going out to people in mid-Michigan and beyond appears to be the 2010 Census; but look a little closer.

"It's so misleading to people," says Rep. Barb Byrum, D-Onondaga.

The mailer may be called the "2010 Congressional District Census," but it's nothing more than a partisan survey and fundraiser. It asks about your TV watching habits, feelings on the stimulus and views on abortion, among other things. Byrum worries those not paying close attention may think it's the actual census.

"Someone will fill this out and not fill out the real census in March or April. It will cost the state of Michigan tens of thousands of dollars per person for 10 years," she says.

The Republican National Committee is responsible for the so-called census. Spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski tells wilx.com, "The document clearly indicates that it is an RNC mailer. The purpose of this document is to gather Republican opinion from across the country and raise a little money."

Byrum says it's fraud.

"I would consider this is a fake census going on," she says.

If you get this in the mail, feel free to go ahead and fill it out. However, there are easy ways to decipher whether you're filling out a survey or the real census.

"A lot of questions are political in nature, and that's not what the census will ask. How many people live in your household? What are their ages? That sort of thing. Not what is your party affiliation or could you send the Republican Party a few bucks," Byrum explains.

Also, the census won't be coming out until sometime in March, so anything before that likely isn't the real deal.