Pollsters for U.S. Senate Candidates Hiding Affiliations in Phone Surveys

At least three Democratic Candidates for Paul E. Tsongas (D-Mass.), senate seat are sponsoring voter surveys conducted by pollsters who claim to be unaffiliated with any candidate. The Crimson has learned The three candidates are Lt Gov John F. Kerry, Rep. James M. Shannon (D. Lawrence), and Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Malden).

Volunteers working for Kerry are instructed to tell respondents they represent Bay State Opinion Research, sources in the Kerry campaign said last week. If pressed, volunteers, reportedly claim ignorance, or tell respondents they are not authorized to disclose information about affiliation, the sources added.

Political consultant Thomas R. Kiley, head of Kerry's polling operations, said last week that Bay State Opinion Research is one of several trade names used by his firm, Marttila and Kiley Associates.

Ethical Practice?

Kiley called the practice ethical, saying that the use of either Kerry's name or that of his well known firm "might make people less willing to respond."

An aide to Shannon said a Salem State College professor conducts polls for the candidate using the trade name Community Research. The aide, who insisted on anonymity, added that pollsters "are not our volunteers. "That aide said pollsters, if asked which candidate they represent, are instructed to say, "I'm not at liberty to divulge that."

Markey employs Patrick H. Caddell '72--a top aide to Presidential candidate Sen. Gary W. Hart (D-Colo.)--who conducts polls through his Washington, DC-based firm, Cambridge Survey Research.

The polling operation is done "completely by their people," said Markey press secretary Gillian Gansler, "[Caddell] doesn't say who he's doing a poll for," she added.

State and national officials said the practice of not properly indicating a poll's affiliation is legal, though ethical questions may still remain. "There's no law at all on the subject," said City Councilor David E. Sullivan, attorney for the Secretary of State's office, which oversees Massachusetts elections.

An official at the Federal Communications Commission said yesterday that the bureau has no jurisdiction over polling practices, even though pollsters use "common carrier" telephone lines.

Random Dialing

Most candidates now use "random digit dialing," a computerized system, that makes calls arbitrarily. Spokesmen for all three candidates said poll responses are kept confidential.

Kiley said it would be unethical to give Kerry the names of undecided voters since his firm promised anonymity and claimed to be independent of all candidates.

Currently, campaign polls only canvass voters on general issues and preferences, officials said, adding that the campaigns "track" the preferences of individual delegates to the June State Convention.

A Shannon aide, however, said that the campaign does use poll results to target demographic and geographic groups where the three-term congressman is strongest.

Organizers for the three candidates said targeting individual voters this early in the campaign is not economically feasible.

"It's unrealistic to do those polls now," Gansler said "It's not a practical use of anybody's resources."