voodoo poll

n. an opinion tallying system whose results are easily manipulated or are otherwise untrustworthy. Subjects: English, Politics

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Citations: 1990 David Zizzo Sunday Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Okla.) (July 29) “2 Republican Candidates for Governor Battle Over Poll ” p. 16: Cole previously had called a Hargis poll showing Hargis leading in Tulsa “a shell game.” Hunter said this week’s poll for Price was a “voodoo poll.” 1995 Econmist (U.K.) (June 17) “Special—Democracy And Technology—Electioneering”: The telephone has made opinion polling vastly easier and faster. It has encouraged not only the carefully structured poll, which confronts a large random sample with a well-designed question, but what Robert Worcester, head of MORI, Britain’s largest polling firm, calls the “voodoo poll,” whereby newspaper readers or television viewers are encouraged to telephone with their opinions on some burning issue of the day. Charging a premium rate for the call makes money, too. 1995 Robert M. Worcester Independent (London, England) (July 23) “Condon and the voodoo poll” p. 22: To test the system, I rang nine times in the two minutes given to register a “yes” vote (although I would not normally participate in such a “voodoo” poll). 2005 [Anthony Wells] UK Polling Report (Feb. 24) “Voodoo Polling Corner”: “Voodoo polls” is a term coined by Sir Bob Worcester to refer to phone-in, click-on or “press-the-red-button” polls, the sort of thing you see on Sky News, the AOL homepage or in the tabloid press. These polls have no statistical validity whatsover, they do not attempt to be representative of the population, they are entirely self-selecting and they are spectacularly easy to fix by getting partisan supporters to repeatedly ring them. No one should mistake them for a worthwhile indication of public opinion.

Posted 28 Feb 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend