A “push poll” is a technique used to try to trick a voter into voting a particular way. For example, an organization makes phone calls to voters posing as researchers taking a poll. They ask relatively ordinary questions, and then they start to plant seeds by saying things that sound like questions, but are really statements. For example, a push poll question might be:

Would you vote for Mr. Doe is you knew he cheated on his wife?

The people calling are not, of course, pollsters, but rather people trying to change your vote, and to find out how you will vote. Even in the nastiest of elections, this is considered unethical behavior.

Today, we received several reports from people who told us that they received calls just like this. The callers claimed to be from an independent research company and asked several questions. The caller ID was blocked. The final question was very similar to:

“Would you vote to recall Stephen Tocco if you knew that the recall was an attempt by Republicans to regain control of the Town Council?”

Of course, this is a deception that gives the caller an opportunity to claim they did not lie. After all, they did not actually say that this was the case. It's still an attempt to deceive, and therefore a lie. Because of the Town Charter and the timing of the election, Tocco's successor will be a Democrat, making it impossible for the Republicans to regain control of the Town Council.

People who reported this unscrupulous activity said that as soon as they took issue with that question, the caller abruptly hung up.

Here are the questions these fake callers are asking:

- Are you happy with the direction RI is headed?
- Are you happy with the direction Smithfield is headed?
- Are you for or against the recall of Tocco?
- If you knew that this recall was only about the Republicans trying to take back control, would you still recall Tocco?

It’s pretty clear Mr. Tocco is getting desperate. He is spending a fortune on this recall, putting up huge signs, doing the push polling, buying ads, and he still has not filed a legally mandated report detailing his contributions and expenses.

Please don't be fooled, and please explain this dirty trick to your neighbors.