Ignore all political polls
Yes, it’s our civic duty to vote. But just as crucial, I feel, is to ignore all opinion polls. Right now, for example, some predict a “blue wave.” But does it avail anyone — red, blue, or on the fence — to treat such an outcome as a given? No, it does not.
Besides, the idea that one side or another is somehow already “ahead” in a political race is poppycock. No outcome exists until an election occurs. That’s when the wave function collapses (as they say in quantum physics). It’s not just that polls are notoriously “inaccurate.” It’s that they’re incapable of accuracy, because the thing they pretend to measure doesn’t exist yet. The truth is, “public opinion” is largely a thing created by polls, not measured by them. Pollsters claim, say, that a poll is “accurate to within X%.” But what does that even mean? It’s intrinsically incapable of proof. If tomorrow’s result differs, do they admit error? No, they just say public opinion must have shifted. But a concept that’s unfalsifiable is vacuous. The emperor has no clothes.
I refuse to answer all polls. Why? Because, intentionally or not, the only real effect of a poll is to nudge an election’s outcome — in ways I may not support. They’re also anti-democratic: First, polls make outcomes seem inevitable, thus leading folks to feel voting is fruitless. Polls poison the belief, essential to democracy, that every vote matters. Second, far too many candidates tailor their messages and policies to the polling, thus becoming followers instead of leaders. Third, giving opinions to a pollster makes us hesitant to change our minds, less likely to keep on questioning and learning up to the moment we mark a ballot. In essence, we’re prematurely giving away a slice of our right to vote. Fourth, and most tragic, poll results occupy most media election coverage, leaving little space for news of what matters most: the record, policy views, judgment, and moral character of each candidate.
Please consider refusing to answer all polling. If enough refuse, on principle, to participate, the delusion will burst. Maybe more candidates will try to inform, persuade and inspire us, instead of pandering to us. Maybe more media will give us facts, instead of telling us what they think we think. Maybe voters will again feel their vote counts. Isn’t it worth a shot?