Many people already have a good idea of who they will vote for in the upcoming presidential election, but there is still a large number of undecided voters. These are the individuals most likely to be targeted by a method of campaigning known as push-polling.

Push-polling is a form of phone poll in which the pollster influences the voter’s choice through negative statements or innuendo about a candidate. According to CBS news, George W. Bush’s campaign reportedly used them against John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the 2000 presidential election. Bush’s push-polls allegedly asked voters in South Carolina if they would be more or less likely to vote for McCain if they knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child.

The implied accusation is not true, but that implication is what is intended to influence voters.

State Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, said push-polls are used because they are effective for their price.

“They are very cheap compared to TV ads. They also put a lot of pressure on people who don’t know all the little details of their candidate,” she said.

Despite the fact that push-polls are generally regarded as immoral, the practice is not illegal.

“That’s the thing with the First Amendment – it covers lies too, as long as no one is being threatened or bribed,” said State Rep. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, who said he has had this tactic used against him.

“In my re-election campaign, one individual wrote a letter to a newspaper saying that he had received a call which claimed to be a poll, but had a heavy slant on questions against me,” he said.

Wessel-Kroeschell said it can be difficult to differentiate between real polls and push-polls, but there are ways.

“Push-pollers almost never identify which campaign they’re working for. Also, legitimate pollsters never call more than 1,000 people, and they also try to sample a broad spectrum of people, so those are things to check for too,” she said.

Quirmbach, although subjected to this tactic, showed that it doesn’t always work – he won his re-election campaign. At his victory party, he said that he “beat $40,000 worth of advertising with $40 walking shoes.”

He went on to say that, even though this tactic is effective sometimes, it is not very prevalent here in Iowa.

“Those kind of tactics just don’t sell well here. We have a well-educated and informed community, and it’s pretty hard for outsiders to come in and sell a story,” he said.

In March of last year, a bill was introduced to the Iowa General Assembly that would require independent pollsters to identify who sponsored and is associated with the poll.

The bill also requires the poll to include whether or not a candidate has approved it, and it prohibits any false information about sponsors being given.

The bill passed a House committee vote with 20 in favor and one absent, but is waiting to be passed into law.

Wessel-Kroeschell said she can see both sides of the push-poll argument.

“People on both sides have gotten push-poll calls, and most legislators from both parties hate it. On the other hand, some people are responsible for getting people elected, and someone thinks that it’s effective enough to use,” she said.

The only real countermeasure is voters that won’t fall into the push-poll trap – voters who want to do their own independent research on the candidates they support.

“You really hope that people will see through blatant lies, but having an independent media that will do some digging is important,” Quirmbach said.