Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with polls

Getting results, and paying out the ass for it!

chrisfromthelc — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:26:35 -0800

I need to conduct a survey, but I need the traffic to send to it. Are there any services out there (reasonably priced; they need not be free) that will host polls and provide traffic to those polls? I remember seeing ads on Facebook with polls, but can find nowhere to set one up. I'd like to also be able to limit the exposure by demographic (my "product" is pretty age-specific).

Any idea, hivemind?

How do I create an online poll which users can permanently add to?

kmccormi — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:41:10 -0800

How can I create an online HTML form poll, preferably for free, wherein the list of multiple choices can grow when users decide to add to the list of choices? Many poll creators allow for the creation of multiple choice polls that give the viewer the option of selecting "other" with a text field for comments. However, usually this entry does not then become visible to viewers who visit thereafter.

I want my list of choices to be able to grow. If a user sees an existing choice that he likes, he can add his vote to that one, but if he doesn't see an existing choice I would like him to be able to add that choice permanently to the list. Any user who visits afterward will see his choice in the list and be able to vote for it.

I also would love for this poll to be clean, ad-free, and preferably embeddable into a blog or personal site. Does anything like this exist? Thanks.

"Yes we/they/you can/should/did!" (How has profound democratic change come about in the past?)

omnigut — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:16:38 -0800

"Is the hope for profound change misdirected in a country where almost 50% of the population voted for the incumbent party?" (Historical perspectives on this question, please) I'm looking for specific examples of democracy from above and below—when democratic leaders have "gifted" [what is generally accepted to be positive] social change without popular motivation, and others in which this change has happened from genuine democratic/popular movements. USA history preferable, but international history definitely welcome.

Of course, any musings over that answer for today's situation would be appreciated, but preferred in a private message; this question is looking for a historic perspective where great politics has occurred in the absence of clear (or, perhaps, specific) voter support.

Finally, I'm looking for links to articles/journals [and books, eventually] which examine the difference between the feelings/views expressed by people in polls, on the one hand, and the professed missions of the parties they vote for, on the other.

i.e. Do people vote for the parties that best represent them?

Feed my information addiction while I'm offline on November 4

Mavri — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:03:19 -0800

I will not have internet access on election night, but really want to be able to follow along--has anyone seen a good cheat sheet? Many of the sites I've been reading have had a lot of prognostication along the following lines, "If Obama wins states x and y when the first polls close, then McCain needs states a and b. But if McCain gets state x, then the states to watch when the second bunch of polls close are states c and d." Or, "If Obama wins the Kerry states + states x, y, and z, he's in, and McCain needs to win the Bush states plus states a, b, and c." Etc.

I'm looking for something I can print out or download to a non-internet capable laptop that will help me gauge how things are going on Tuesday night.

I'll be glued to the TV, but don't trust them to give me what I need. I'm desperately addicted to 538 and Pollster and the rest, and I need to cope on Tuesday w/o them as best I can.

What are poll internals?

ocherdraco — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:19:12 -0800

What does the term "internals" mean, as used when discussing political polls? I've been rabidly following the election, but I'm mystified as to what a poll's "internals" are. They're mentioned all the time, as here on Talking Points Memo:

"The new numbers from Research 2000: McCain 48%, Obama 47%, with a ±4% margin of error. The key number from the internals is that Obama is winning the early vote by a 54%-42% margin, and this group is expected to make up 17% of the total likely voters."

Me vote pretty some day.

allkindsoftime — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:30:56 -0800

How do I (quickly) educate myself on the props and candidate choices I will be faced with on my ballot next week? I'll admit it, I've been a bad citizen - I've been way to busy to do enough reading or watch enough news to really get to know what my options are going to be before I walk into the booth.

I'd like a website (ideally, something online, because I travel constantly) that I can use to find out more information about the candidates and propositions I will be voting on. I'd like to be prepared to walk in and confidently know who's getting my vote and why.

Please talk to me like a new voter - I essentially am, although I shouldn't be. I was scarred at a young age on the political system as a whole, but America seems to be getting screwed up enough now that I think every last vote is important.

I'm voting in NYC if that helps (and yes, I've been to the nightmare that is the Board of Elections website, and no, I found nothing remotely helpful).

polling data for states & parishes

dog food sugar — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 08:16:18 -0800

Good sites for political polling data by state county or parish? Google-fu issues here. I would like to find a good site(s) for state data by county or parish, especially for Louisiana and Texas. Sites with easy to read maps a plus. Previous election years would be nice too. All I seem to find are the national ones and I'd like a little more detail within the individual states. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Historical Poll Data Repository?

lore — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:18:09 -0800

Where can I find historical election poll data? With all sorts of discussion flying around about how polls "always" act, I'd like to be able to check it out myself, but I can't seem to find a good, easily navigable repository of US Presidential Election polls going back as far as Dewey and Truman. Can someone help me out?

Extra bonus points for extra bonus data, such as party affiliation, (estimated) final vote counts by party affiliation, and other statistical tidbits.

Where can I find non-partisan analysis of the presidential polls?

hazyspring — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 05:53:12 -0800

Where can I find non-partisan analysis of the presidential polls? It seems like everywhere I turn all of the places analyzing the polls are saying different things. Electoral Vote is saying that the polls are tightening. Just last night CNN said they were tightening but now they are not. Karl Rove said on Fox News that the Republicans have private polls they are looking at.

Is there any place for a non-partisan analysis?

Rock the Helping-People-Vote

Asparagirl — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 22:11:07 -0800

I'm going to be a first-time volunteer poll worker on Election Day -- any tips, advice, or relevant anecdotes for me? (For what it's worth, I live in California, which is not a swing state, and the election may be called before our polls even close.)

instapolling debate tracker

mtstover — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:49:59 -0800

Quick - where can I find an instapolling graph online that tracks audience response to the debates? You know, the ones where someone cranks a dial up as they agree and down when they don't?

What is it about Rudy?

killdevil — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 23:08:06 -0800

Help me understand the appeal of Rudy Giuliani as a presidential candidate. (U.S. electoral politics-filter) Why does Giuliani lead in all the early polling, aside from the fact that he stood heroically in front of a lot of waving flags -- and was routinely featured as such in endless news coverage -- back in September '01? Is it really just about name recognition, or is there more to it than that? Does he have well-articulated positions on substantive issues that resonate with the electorate? What am I missing here?

What say ye, Metafilter?

Aren't Chavez and Bush more similar than people admit?

kittyprecious — Wed, 24 May 2006 05:28:46 -0800

Bipartite ChavezFilter: Are there any (at least vaguely scientific) polls out there of U.S. public opinion of Hugo Chavez--ideally, with responses broken down by political leanings? As for Question Two, can anyone explain to me why it seems like so many on the U.S. American Left appear to give Chavez a pass despite the fact that he's guilty of a lot of the things that they hate Bush for? Who explains this well?

When god closes a door and forgets to tell you how to open the window

jeffe — Mon, 15 May 2006 14:20:59 -0800

How do i open the top of really tall windows? I live in an apartment in a converted school house, the ceilings are 18ft & most of the windows are just as high. Since my future wife moved in with her cats, I have been forbidden from opening the bottom of the windows, since the screens are shakey and we don't want the pudgy one or the crazy one to fall to an untimely end. So I need to find a way we can open the tops of the windows. When I was in catholic grade school I remember they had long hooked poles to put the windows up and down, but I can't find a place that sells them or the fixtures I'd have to put onto the window for the poll to work.

Has anyone come across something like this or a creative alternative?

How do I create an online poll?

grabbingsand — Mon, 07 Mar 2005 05:36:52 -0800

DIYPollingFilter. For an article I'm writing, I need to request some demographic info from about 900 people via an online poll. I will be asking four or five simple multiple choice questions (age range, gender, etc). Google searches lead me to sites like Bravenet and CreatePolls, but I'd like to avoid unwanted adverts and pop-ups by running something on my own site. Can someone point me in the direction of PHP scripts, HTML forms or other resources to handle this kind of request?

Online survey tool recommendations

mcwetboy — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 19:33:51 -0800

Half the blogs I read have links to the Blogads survey today, which reminds me that I've been meaning to do a readership survey for one of my sites. There are a plethora of web sites offering survey tools (if this page from SurveyMonkey, which is doing the Blogads survey, is any indication); which one(s) would you recommend? (Free or very nearly so is preferred, natch.)

US Election Results Online

gluechunk — Mon, 25 Oct 2004 20:31:41 -0800

In past presidental election nights I've sat around a TV with others or been at a campaign headquarters/party. This year I'll be at work though. Suggestions for sites/links for us numbers-obsessed people who want a constant stream of data/graphics/discussion?

Polling vs Electoral Votes

ParisParamus — Tue, 19 Oct 2004 13:55:44 -0800

Every day, we are"treated" to new poll numbers showing Kerry and Bush at various percentages (Bush is leading, and seems to be widening that lead, according to most, except on that Wacky electoral-vote.com thing, but whatever...)

What I don't understand is how these percentages correlate with (or do they describe?) Electoral Votes. Does anyone understand how these correlate/connect? Can someone explain?

Absentee Ballots

nelleish — Thu, 14 Oct 2004 07:38:05 -0800

When I filed my absentee ballot yesterday, the clerk insisted that my father and I vote in pencil... (more inside) She said dem's da rules, we even signed across the seal of the envelope in pencil. Now, I honestly can't remember how it went the last time I voted, and we just moved to rural, western Maine so maybe things are different here.

I went to extreme lengths to darken my boxes so it would be obvious if someone tried erasing, but that's my point. Why do we vote in pencil? Do we normally? Should I be concerned about my vote (beyond voting absentee, obviously)? My father seemed unfazed, but he's sort of trusting. Since I'm back at university in Canada, I can't trot back to the town office and ask someone official myself. Any comments?

Do busses in your country make (give) change?

Danelope — Tue, 12 Oct 2004 22:40:39 -0800

The MetaFilterist's Quarterly Public Transportation Survey:
Do busses in your country make (give) change? Aside from walking, Seattle's Metro Transit has been my chosen mode of travel since I arrived in 2001. During my tenure as a passenger, I have learned The Immutable Truths of Riding:

1. The Bus shall alwayes be ten minutes late but for the tymes ye too are late, in which case The Bus will be early.
2. The Bus shall alwayes be most croweded during the most traffic-laden, sweltering, or rain-soaked tymes.
3. The Bus shall house no less than two insane persons at any given moment.
4. The Bus shall neither make nor give change.

Despite the fundamental trueness of these principles, I have borne witness on countless occasions to someone new to this fair city -- and indeed, this country -- attempting to board the bus with the expectation that the driver will provide them with change. Needless to say, the collision of surly driver and non-native English speaker is an awkward and often unpleasant one.

It is for this reason that I put it to you: Do busses in your country provide change? Is America behind the curve (and, from here, do we turn the corner or stay the course?)

Who was the most unppular president in modern US history?

inksyndicate — Sun, 16 May 2004 16:58:20 -0800

Who was the most unpopular president in modern U.S. history? Who had the lowest poll ratings at any one time?