Auroral backscatter from the lower E region was studied using two 50 MHz bistatic, continuous wave radar links which shared a common polarimetric receiver. The polarization parameters were defined in terms of the polarization ellipse, which is described by the ellipticity angle &khgr;, orientation angle &psgr;, and polarization ratio m. Spectral analysis was applied to the intensity measurements and its corresponding polarization parameters. Observations of typical auroral spectral types 1, 2, and 3 indicated that the scattering of a linearly polarized incident wave produced an essentially linear and highly polarized scattered wave. These results imply a small scattering volume and/or a small number of discrete scatterers located close to one another, scatterer referring to a volume where radar waves are scattered according to weak coherent scattering theory, and also reaffirms that the scattering process is a weak coherent one. These results are typical of most observations, but not all; an otherwise typical intensity spectrum may also exhibit variable polarization parameters with an appreciable reduction in the polarization ratio and/or signals of significant ellipticity. These anomalous properties can be explained as scatter coming from a number of individual scattering volumes within the scattering region (i.e., the effective radar viewing region), which are each influenced differently by Faraday rotation to and from the scattering region.¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union