Reply #14: Now now...

[LuminousX]

21A § 1014-B. Push polling (As defined in Maine)

1. Push poll defined. For purposes of this section, "push poll" means any paid telephone survey or series of telephone surveys that are similar in nature that reference a candidate or group of candidates other than in a basic preference question, and when:

A. A list or directory is used, exclusively or in part, to select respondents belonging to a particular subset or combination of subsets of the population, based on demographic or political characteristics such as race, sex, age, ethnicity, party affiliation or like characteristics;

B. The survey fails to make demographic inquiries on factors such as age, household income or status as a likely voter sufficient to allow for the tabulation of results based on a relevant subset of the population consistent with standard polling industry practices;

C. The pollster or polling organization does not collect or tabulate survey results;

D. The survey prefaces a question regarding support for a candidate on the basis of an untrue statement; and

E. The survey is primarily for the purpose of suppressing or changing the voting position of the call recipient.

"Push poll" does not include any survey supporting a particular candidate that fails to reference another candidate or candidates other than in a basic preference question.

http://www.state.me.us/ethics/pushpollreqmts021302.htm


Other Sources:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/02/14/politics/main...

Not all questions that seem negative are part of push polls. Candidate organizations sometimes do actual polls that contain negative information about the opposing candidate. These polls, which are not push polls, are conducted for the same reasons market and advertising researchers do their work: to see what kinds of themes and packages move the public.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/dailynews/TheNo...

11. (You thought we'd forget?) Don't forget what distinguishes a push poll from real polling calls and from advocacy phone-banking: push polls are calls that pretend to be for the purpose of a survey but are, in fact, calls designed to "push" the respondent toward the candidate who is paying for the calls, or away from the opposition.