How Do Election Polls Work?⎢Civics in a Minute⎢TakePart TV?

Election polls are like asking your friends what flavor ice cream they want before the party starts.

Polls are when people ask a bunch of people their opinion about who they think will win an election, which is like choosing a class president. Instead of asking everyone in school, they just ask a few kids, that’s called a sample, and use what those kids say to guess what the whole school might pick.

People doing polls usually call or send messages to random people who are like the school, some from different grades, some with different favorite ice cream flavors. That helps them make a better guess about what everyone will choose.

Once they get all the answers, they add them up and figure out how many people like one candidate over another. It’s kind of like counting who picked chocolate versus vanilla in your class, if most kids pick chocolate, the poll says chocolate is probably going to win!

Polls aren’t perfect, but they help grown-ups know what might happen before it actually happens, just like knowing which ice cream flavor is popular helps you decide what to bring to the party.