ABSTRACT
Public polling is a twentieth-century science first developed as a method to predict elections, then expanded to include opinion polling on a wide variety of issues. The US polling industry comprises more than 200 private companies including the household names Gallup, Harris, Roper, and Yankelovich. The Center for Political Studies at the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center collects economic data from consumers and voting and attitude data in the National Election Studies conducted every other year by the Center for Political Studies. Some of the largest election polling errors occur when black candidates face a white opponent. In the same way that election polling turns elections into horse races, public opinion polling is criticized for turning public policy debates into popularity contests. Columbia University political scientist Benjamin Ginsberg argues that polls create a false sense of unity because they ask citizens to respond passively to a preconceived set of issues.
