Is polling fair

Answer 1

Polling may or may not be fair. It depends on the motives of those taking the poll. Most professional polling companies have a good reputation for fair polls. Most, not all, other organizations usually have an agenda and their poll question reflect that; the questions are designed to show a desired result. This is especially true of "surveys" sent out by political parties, lobbying groups, and office holders. You also see similar questions used in product advertisements. Exit polls taken by news agencies at local polling places during an election seem to be reliable. Those are usually very simple, one or two questions, and the motive of the poll takers is that their poll agree with the election results. The motive of the poll takers has everything to do with the assurance of or lack of fairness.

I have answered many polls over the phone taken by professional polling companies, and I have found the majority to be neutral and balanced; I also receive questionnaires from both major political parties and their associated political action committees. This group asks questions that are based on theory, conjecture, and partisanship. The rhetoric used in for these questions is almost always stilted and inflammatory. The funny (scary?) thing about them is that if you take a varied group of them, black out the names of their targets or their darlings, the party they're attacking or praising, you can't tell which group sent them; they're all interchangeable. I wonder how much of the results of these are used to base public policy on or are they just a ploy for fund raising?

Perhaps this issue is better answered if the question was "Are polls objective or subjective?"

Answer 2

The US election process is very fair - it includes votes by the people and includes the right of the States to vote.