Who paid for that poll?

Yesterday afternoon, I was polled via a live person. The caller was from New Jersey. After answering the 27 questions, the caller said thank you. I then asked who paid for the poll. The caller said she didn’t know. The only thing she knew was that she worked for a company called “RSR” and she didn’t even know what that stood for. (A Google search on “RSR” reveals nothing.) I asked her to find out. She talked to her supervisor and was told that all she was to say was that she worked for RSR.

The poll covered the Webb/Allen race as well as the Kellam/Drake race. (They also asked about the so-called Marriage Amendment but only read the first sentence.) I’m pretty well acquainted with the rules for disclosing who paid for a poll as it relates to Virginia law; however, I wasn’t clear on whether such disclosure was required for federal elections. So I made a phone call to the FEC. The lady I talked to there referred me to this brochure on the FEC website. She said she believed that the disclosure was required, based on this section:

For the purpose of this brochure, a “disclaimer” notice is defined as a statement placed on a public communication that identifies the person(s) who paid for the communication and, where applicable, the person(s) who authorized the communication.

[…]

As defined in FEC regulations, the term “public communication” includes:

• Broadcast, cable or satellite transmission;
• Newspaper;
• Magazine;
• Outdoor advertising facility (e.g., billboard);
• Mass mailing (defined as more than 500 pieces of mail matter of an identical or substantially similar nature within any 30-day period);
• Telephone banks (defined as more than 500 telephone calls of an identical or substantially similar nature within any 30-day period) (emphasis added); or
• Any other general public political advertising. General public political advertising does not include Internet ads, except for communications placed for a fee on another person’s website

She also referred me to Section 106.4 of the regulations and mentioned MER 4919 (which I have so far been unable to locate), which deals with push polling.

Unless I’m missing something, that section above is pretty clear that a disclaimer is required for the poll. And I want to know who paid for the one I participated in yesterday.