Should we start regulating polls making them fair?

Question

How about each poll contains say 5 "fair" multiple choice questions that were pre-determined to be fair by some committee?

This would of course yield different results, but fairness is what counts.

What do ya think?

Answer 1

Never happen. All the polls are push-polls. They're all designed to get a certain result because some people think that people will go along with the majority, whatever the majority thinks. This is why many polls are taken at "dinner hour" beween 6 and 7 on weeknights - many white collar workers aren't home from work yet but almost all the blue collar workers are. The GOP lost the last elections but the individual elections were darned close, mostly within 2% margins, and polls suggested that they'd be 5% or wider wins for the Dems. Why? Because the polls are scheduled to deliberately exclude entire voting blocs that typically vote Republican.

Answer 2

The word "fair" is subjective. It means different things to different people. You could put together what you think is the most "fair" poll in the world, but many others would think it unfair.

What polls strive to be is "objective". Good polling attempts to get accurate responses from people without influencing them. Of course, the question must be phrased somehow, so there is no way to avoid any influence on the responder, but good pollsters know how to get closest.

You may be concerned about some polls that deliberately try to influence the responders by how they phrase the questions. Various participants in political debates use this technique all the time. That way they can claim that X% of the population supports their positions.

Your best bet is to not concentrate on "fair", but search out the best objective polls. And read a variety of polls on a particular subject, including the questions and responses, so you can get a clear picture of the issue.