Politicians Use Polls to Adjust Their Message

Diane J. Heith, professor and chair of government and politics at St. John’s University, is the author of "The Presidential Road Show: Public Leadership in an Era of Party Polarization and Media Fragmentation," "Polling to Govern: Public Opinion and Presidential Leadership" and is co-author of "Presidents and the American Presidency."

Updated November 30, 2015, 3:21 AM

As part of a permanent campaign, political leaders use polls to craft their language, track responses to their speeches and identify who is for them, who against them, and why. Polling helps politicians maintain and expand their coalition from one election to the next by tracking attitudes.

If polls are used to find persuasive language, our attitudes can suborn support. And opinions of the inattentive add little to the policy-making process.

Politicians also benefit from polling in the same way companies marketing a product do. It is easier to persuade when you understand your audience. The Reagan administration discovered that calling a space-based defense program “Star Wars” appealed to the public more than when it was called the “Strategic Defense Initiative.”

The benefit for the public is less obvious. A representative democracy is based on input from the public in elections. Some citizens take the democratic mandate further and express their opinions by contacting their elected officials, or by holding up signs on street corners, or by marching on Washington. In any of those scenarios, citizen preferences drive participation.

Many citizens do not actively participate, even in elections. However, polls collect the opinions of all citizens whether they are active, inactive, partisan, independent, knowledgeable, disconnected or oblivious. While we want more participation, gathering the opinions of the inattentive or unknowledgeable does not add value to the policy-making process.

The quality and use of polling data can also raise concerns. Most polls reveal simplistic preferences: “Yes, I agree;” or “No, I don’t.” Answering a complex, multifaceted question requires the respondent to understand the question, the choices and to truly have a preference.

If polls are used to identify persuasive language, then our attitudes can suborn support. Knowledge of poll data can also persuade: learning that 55 percent of Americans believe something or support someone can produce a bandwagon effect for those with limited knowledge. Plus, close poll results that fall within the margin of error make positions on policy appear certain when they are actually uncertain.

Citizens want their views represented while decisions are being made. Polls provide that opportunity in a way that elections do not. But politicians control how polls are used, and if used to manipulate, then we may be worse off than if we didn’t have them at all.