Controversial Push Poll Targets Override Supporters

Bill Green received the call Wednesday night, June 9, which has since left him disappointed and frustrated.

"I received an anonymous robot phone call from an 'independent survey' that told me that the override vote on Monday was to raise taxes to increase the salaries of town officials. Then it asked me to click '1' if I supported the override and '2' if I was going to vote 'No,'" said Green, a ten-year Town Meeting member from Precinct 7.

Being active in Town Meeting, Green understood the revenue from the $2 million override that will be on the ballot Monday, June 14, is targeted to prevent cuts in personnel and service and not for pay raises. He quickly hung up the phone.

But what caught Green's attention was the seeming non-partisan tone of the call.

"I clearly remember the only purpose of the override mentioned in the script was to raise the salaries of town officials, but it was stated with a tone and choice of words that made it sound like this was an impartial objective survey question," added Green.

What Green and a growing number of Belmont residents have received was a push poll, a political tactic in which voters are provided with less-than-factual information on an issue or a candidate under the guise of a legitimate survey.

The poll ­– paid for by an unknown individual – has angered override proponents.

"Push polls are employed when facts are not in your favor. If you cannot win on the merits of the arguments, you resort to such tactics," said Scott Ferson, spokesman for One Belmont, the citizens group supporting the override.

The push poll is the second reported controversial polling technique to come to light in the past 48 hours.

Town Clerk Ellen O'Brien Cushman said on June 11 that she has received three complaints from Town Meeting members of an alleged "straw poll" being conducted in town.

The telephone caller states that the survey is being conducted by "representatives of precinct captains" to gage possible support or rejection of the override ballot.

But when members answer that they are in favor of the ballot question, the caller quickly hangs up.

O'Brien-Cushman said her calls to precinct leaders indicate that no such "straw poll" was considered or being compiled.

Two groups, the Belmont Teacher's Association and the pro-override group One Belmont, are phoning residents.

Push polls, also known as smear polls, are not actually polls but political telemarketing. No information is collected or numbers analyzed. The message is usually short and contains negative information on a candidate or issue in an attempt to influence a potential voter's view on issues or candidates.

Long considered a part of "dirty politics," the most notorious push poll occurred in 2000 in the South Carolina Republican primary where candidate George Bush used a Karl Rove-written telephone poll that included an allegation John McCain had fathered an illegitimate black child.

Push polls are condemned by the American Association of Political Consultants and are illegal in New Hampshire.

While legal in Massachusetts, an individual sponsoring push polls and spending more than $250 must sign a disclosure form with the town's election official, who is Town Clerk O'Brien-Cushman,

If the push poll is used 18 days prior to the ballot, the sponsor must provide the town a disclosure form at least eight days before the election, according to Jason Tait, spokesman for the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

If the poll is conducted a week before the election – as is the case in Belmont – the individual is able to present the disclosure form to the town clerk up to 30 days after the election.

If the form is not presented after the 30-day limit, the state can fine the sponsor.

Yet the state has limited resources in finding the individual using a push poll and there is a chance the sponsor could remain anonymous.

For override supporters, the use of political tactics in Belmont that are condemned throughout the political sphere is troubling.

"We have no idea who paid for these calls, which purport facts about the override which are not true. To do so anonymously is both cowardly as a campaign tactic, and unfortunate in the effort to reach voters so they can make an informed decision," said Ferson.

For Green, the push poll call he received Wednesday reminded him of past elections in Belmont. He recalled receiving letters just before elections without a signature that would make unfounded, and at time slanderous, allegations against candidates.

"Now I'm really disappointed that we can't have a straight forward debate, that one side has to use gimmicks and tricks," said Green.