It happens to a lot of us -- we are settling into dinner with our families and the phone rings. With some frustration, we answer the phone, only to be greeted with a friendly voice asking us to participate in a short election survey.

Now, being committed voters and diligent citizens, we agree to answer the questions: Did you vote in the primary election? Do you plan to vote in the upcoming election? What issues are most important to you?

But, with no warning, the questions take a subtly negative turn, asking if could support a candidate that has been charged with passing hot checks and drunk driving, or if I agree that my elected representatives do not always have to be honest. Without actually being negative about a single person, this election survey is steering me to make negative conclusions about specific candidates.

Folks, if this is familiar to you, you have been "push polled."

Polling has long been an integral part of a robust democracy. It allows politicians and citizens to measure the pulse of public opinion on issues, and allows candidates to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of both themselves and their opponents. However, recent elections have seen an increase of a new technique of polling - push polls.

What is a push poll?

Push polls are not really polls at all. They are not designed to measure public opinion, but to manipulate it by providing "respondents" (those who answer the poll questions) with hypothetical, sometimes blatantly false or misleading information, about a candidate, political party or initiative. A push poll is more a political telemarketing call than a legitimate poll.

Why are push polls so bad?

Push polls lull voters into believing they have been contacted by an impartial public opinion company. Because they are designed like a legitimate poll, but often end with negative results, they have the detrimental effect of undermining legitimate polling. Additionally, push polls are likely contributing to voter's dissatisfaction with the government. "Push polls make people more cynical about politics," said former American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) President, Michael W. Traugott, "and that's something that democracy can't afford."

In fact, critics argue that the purpose of push polling, in part, is to suppress voter turnout.

Finally, and most directly, push polling misleads the public. While many voters are careful to take negative comments from a candidate's opponent with a grain of salt, push polls are designed to suggest to the listener that the allegations come from an objective source.

How can you tell a push poll from a legitimate poll?

• Push polls are generally quick - less than a minute. Legitimate polls, in order to engage a respondent and elicit a good sample of opinions, will last closer to five or ten minutes.

• Push polls will not ask demographic questions, such as party identification, age, gender, and race or ethnicity. Push polls are not concerned with scientific accuracy.

• Push pollsters often provide no identification of who is conducting the interview.

• Push polls often involve some negative statement about an opponent.

• Push polls often begin with a question designed to discover which candidate the respondent supports in a certain race, and the remain script varies depending on the answer.

Many states are trying to regulate push polls better. From Alaska to Florida, state leaders have recognized the detriment of these campaigning tactics to the democratic process and have begun to include them in campaign regulations.

Last Session, Senator Shapleigh fought to regulation push polls in Texas. He filed a comprehensive bill, S.B. 852, that would have required certain protections and disclosures so that voters would not be hoodwinked by push polls. S.B. 852 garnered much support, passing out of the Senate State Affairs Committee with a vote of 7-0.

However, Lt. Governor Dewhurst never allowed this important bill to be considered by the full Senate and the bill died. In the midst of a heated election season, voters across Texas would have fared well with some protections against push polling.