# Surveys checking how you plan to vote **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 25, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893 "2018-09-25T15:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/21 "2018-09-26T04:33:05Z")
Nobody cares to go to my door. But I got my first push poll recently. Home sick, so I wasn’t diligent about asking about their company. Seemingly genuine questions followed by subtle but still obvious “gotcha” questions. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/22 "2018-09-26T08:12:43Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/23 "2018-09-26T11:25:41Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’ve done plenty of canvassing like that. The person would have probably given you information on absentee ballots or a ride to the polls, or informed you that the polling station is no longer at the elementary school, it’s now at the library. Canvassers can provide information about getting an absentee ballot, polling location, and ride assistance without asking which candidate I intend to vote for. I am very much in favor of encouraging every eligible person to register to vote and to cast a ballot. But who I am voting for is my own business. I do not discuss that with pollsters, with friends, or even with family, not before nor after the election. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/24 "2018-09-26T12:29:54Z")
I’m a pretty private person, so no, I won’t take your phone survey, and if you’re knocking on my front door please get out of my business. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/25 "2018-09-26T13:34:30Z")
I don’t mind stating my opinions, and as long as the person at the door is polite and I am not extremely busy with something at the time, I’ll answer their questions. Might even suggest a few new questions for them:) I don’t understand why simply being _asked_ upsets some people. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/26 "2018-09-26T13:35:56Z")
[quote=“Ravenman, post:9, topic:821893”] I think asking who you intend to vote for is about about as invasive a question as asking someone if they like Coke or Pepsi. I fail to understand why people get all riled up about the question, as did Dave Chappelle: [/QUOTE] I also don’t feel compelled in the least to tell a stranger on my doorstep whether I prefer Coke or Pepsi. What I prefer most, in my home, is privacy. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/27 "2018-09-26T13:36:57Z")
I think that from now on I will stop answering political surveys, because I am afraid that if they don’t like my answers they will yank my registration. A party who is slowly losing power can get desperate. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/28 "2018-09-26T14:06:29Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’ll just note the irony of this being offered as a poll. Ah! But it’s a _private_ poll. Like an actual election with booths and curtains. The objective is to see where the numbers fall, while anonymity remains intact. If people want to discuss how they voted, then that remains their [prerogative](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cDLZqe735k). ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/29 "2018-09-26T16:57:32Z")
I have no problem with answering telephone or door-to-door polls, although that I’ve never had the chance to. But I don’t do bumper stickers or yard signs–that feels too much like putting a target on myself. I do fly an American flag from my porch. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/30 "2018-09-26T21:35:46Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Sure, two main reasons. > > 1. As a statistician I have to support the solidarity of making N as large as possible. > 2. Politicians use these surveys to gauge popular support of policies, so answering surveys provides a slight push in the direction of the conforming the world to my preference. Yeah. I don’t know why anyone needs to make it more complicated than this. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/31 "2018-09-28T14:31:19Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > 1. Politicians use these surveys to gauge popular support of policies, so answering surveys provides a slight push in the direction of the conforming the world to my preference. Surveys are OK. In fact, I think it’s a sign of good faith when a representative checks in with his constituents to ensure he is advancing _their_ desires as opposed to his own. But what I’m talking about is entirely different. At election time, I want to know what you think you’re about. Tell me who you are and/or sing the virtues of your pet initiative, loudly and proudly, and then back the hell off while I cast my vote. One thing I _don’t_ want is for someone to try and spin their idea or candidate to be cosmetically more appealing to me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/32 "2018-09-28T15:39:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve never answered such a question honestly. I’m not sure exactly _why_. It’s none of their business who I plan to vote for, and lying seems even more correct than telling them I don’t want to answer. I’ve always wondered how closely the liars on one side of an issue balance out the liars on the other side of the issue. I generally just answer honestly. I don’t get a lot of these bugging me, but if I’m in the mood to actually answer questions, I do so truthfully. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/33 "2018-09-28T15:49:10Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ve always wondered how closely the liars on one side of an issue balance out the liars on the other side of the issue. I generally just answer honestly. I don’t get a lot of these bugging me, but if I’m in the mood to actually answer questions, I do so truthfully. I should say, this is in repsonse to telephone surveys. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a door-to-door survey. I’m not sure if it would change my reaction: I’d probably be less inclined to answer at all, but I’d still probably answer truthfully. And as to my question wondering aloud how much they balance out, I guess if the liars were spread out evenly among both sides of an issue, the closer the “true” voter sentiment is to 50:50, the more the false answers cancel each other out. So if 10% of the population are liars, then in a poll of 100, 5 votes on one side cancel out with 5 on the other, but if the true population sentiment is 90 for, 10 against, then the issue would poll as 82 for, and 18 against if liars were distributed equally. Of course, that caveat is the big deal. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893/34 "2018-09-28T16:27:51Z")
The telephone polls I got all summer were from my State Representative (a Republican, but not really that obnoxious) and dealt with his primary challenger, who lost badly. The person on the phone said they were actually looking for Democrats to respond to the poll, because it gave them a better handle on the local issues that mattered to everybody. I thought that was a nice touch. Probably a lie, but nice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surveys-checking-how-you-plan-to-vote/821893.md?page=1)