Why do we use the term straw poll? How is it different from a poll? I only hear straw poll used when it comes to pre-election polls.
A vote - the results are official. I voted for the mayoral candidate.
a poll - an unofficial voting. I polled my friends on what kind of pizza they like.
A straw poll - ???
A straw poll, in my experience, is a poll that is not binding. So, in a committee, you might have straw poll between two opposing ideas, but after the chair says, “Well, 6 members support idea A, 4 support idea B, and 3 aren’t sure”, you can have debate, followed by a binding resolution which might be for idea A, probably won’t be for idea B, but might be for idea C which combines parts of A and B.
The terms aren’t precise, but a poll usually means one that uses standard polling techniques to try to get a truly representative sample.
A straw poll just asks the questions without making sure that the sample is good. An informal poll of friends, while probably technically a straw poll, will probably be called just a “poll.”
Straw polls seem to generally be “event based” (i.e, vote at x location during y event). Depending on who/how many people show up, they’re very similar to an actual vote, only the results are non-binding.
They differ from your standard opinion poll, which is typically done on an individual basis via telephone.