Question Order in CT

Another note on the Zogby Interactive Surveys. Crosstabs.org GOP pollster Rob Autry (whose company, Public Opinion Strategies, polls for Joe Lieberman) notes that Zogby's Connecticut survey asked a two-way vote question pitting Democrat Ned Lamont against Republican Alan Schlesinger before asking the five-way vote question featuring "Independent Joe Lieberman, Green Party Ralph Ferrucci, and Independent Party John Mertens."

Autry is right to assume that question order likely depresses Lieberman's vote in this instance. Checking the subscription-only Zogby crosstabs, he notes that Lamont receives 90% of the vote from Democrats on the first (two-way) question and then retains 77% of Democrats on the second (five-way) question. Compare that to the August survey from Quinnipiac, where Lamont received only 63% of the vote from Democrats on a three-way ballot against Lieberman and Schlesinger (Q11).

Of course, if we are going to scrutinize question order, we might also take a closer look at that Quinnipiac survey that waited to ask the Senate question until after favorable ratings that describe Lamont as a "businessman," Schlesinger as a "former state representative," and Lieberman as a "United States Senator." Unless those labels appear on the ballot, that particular question order is also a bit problematic.