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How to write an ideal survey for polling
How to write an ideal survey for polling

Not sure what to write for your polling survey? Check this out.

Kate Guest avatar
Written by Kate Guest
Updated over 6 months ago

New to polling? Numinar's got you covered. Check out this article for best practices in writing a survey for a poll.

💡Polling data should be unbiased, meaning the survey content doesn't ask leading questions 😉

What kind of poll should I run?

At Numinar, our AI modeling supports Candidate Preference, Top Issue, and Voter Turnout models. Therefore, it's recommended your survey captures data for these types of models. Even if you are just running a poll without the intention to build a model off of it, the survey template below helps you collect important data in very few questions.

Survey Framework

When writing your survey, Numinar suggests asking the following types of questions:

  1. Candidate Preference

  2. Candidate Name ID / Favorability

  3. Top Issue

  4. Turnout Likelihood
    ​

Example (Text) Survey

  1. Hi, this is {Name} from {Org Name} with a short political survey. Who are you more likely to vote for in the upcoming election for [Election]? Reply OPTOUT to unsubscribe.
    ​

    1. {Candidate Name}

    2. {Opponent Name}

    3. Unsure
      ​

  2. Who are you more likely to vote for in the upcoming election for [Election]? How would you describe your opinion of [Candidate Name]?
    ​

    1. Very Favorable

    2. Favorable

    3. Neutral

    4. Unfavorable

    5. Very Unfavorable

    6. Never Heard Of
      ​

  3. What issue do you care about most?
    ​

    1. {Issue 1}

    2. {Issue 2}

    3. {Issue 3}

    4. {Issue 4}

    5. {Issue 5}

    6. Unsure

  4. How likely are you to vote in the upcoming election?

    1. Very Likely

    2. Likely

    3. Unsure

    4. Unlikely

    5. Very Unlikely

  5. Thank you for your time!

Best Practices

  • Keep the survey short - voters are less likely to answer 10 questions than just a few.

  • Give an unsure or other option in the response choices.

  • Stay compliant, check out this article for texting compliance.

  • Send a mix of text surveys and IVRs.

  • With name attribution, keep it unbiased. If possible, use the consulting agency name instead of campaign name. Unsure of what to do? Reach out to support@numinar.com.

  • You can and should randomize response options for survey questions that aren't gradient.

  • You can pin the last response for "other" or "unsure" options.

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