The Responsibility Project^®. Exploring what it means to do the right thing

Lying at the Polls

12 Comments

September 9, 2008 by Kathy McManus

Many people believe they have a responsibility to vote. But when a political pollster or survey taker asks, do you have a responsibility to tell the truth about who you’re voting for?

Approximately 10% of Americans admit they’ve lied to pollsters. In a close election, a 10% false answer rate is more than enough to confuse pundits, confound candidates, and contradict a predicted outcome, especially in the current presidential race.

“This election is exceptionally tricky,” says one pollster.

Perhaps the only thing that is predictable is what people lie about. “They’re not candid on questions about sex, violence in the house, a whole range of things that are tough to talk about,” says Andy Kohut, Director of the Pew Research Center. They’re also not candid about race and age. “People don’t want to be stigmatized,” Kohut explain

But researchers found that when people answer survey questions privately online, they’re less likely to lie than when they’re questioned by an interviewer, because they tend to say what they think the interviewer wants to hear.

In an experiment, 58% of those surveyed told a phone interviewer they exercise regularly. But when the same question was asked privately online, only 35% made the same claim. The oscillating honesty factor continued across a range of personal topics. 56% told an interviewer they regularly attend religious services, but when they answered privately online, that number dropped to only 25%. And when asked about drinking, 39% told an interviewer they had alcohol in the last week, but online, 53% ’fessed up.

Many political pollsters say they’re taking precautions and adding questions about age and race to current surveys in an effort to better predict the outcome of the November elections. But one expert has a reminder of why we shouldn’t be so surprised when the predictions don’t match the vote, saying, “That’s what anonymous voting allows.”

Tell us what you think: Do you have a responsibility to tell the truth to pollsters? Have you ever mislead a survey taker with inaccurate information? How and why?

12 Comments

What do you think? Leave a comment

• September 15, 2008 by Stefen Reilly

  I often do not answer political polls truthfully and do not feel it is my responsibility to do so. The fact that they report their findings as truths is just why I do it. It is time for them to realize that they have to stop using polls, especially political polls, as if they were election results. In most other polls I tend to be truthful.

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• September 16, 2008 by Patrick Parker

  The pollsters that call my home are almost always blatantly biased, using faulty survey methodology to influence the answers they get, and using the so-called results on political commercials. I was a member of the NRA until they started sending questionnaires with questions like, "Who would you rather have the right to own a gun - a terrible, awful, murderous criminal or a law abiding citizen such as yourself? One phone pollster called me regarding a political argument between the governor and another politician. In every question, the pollster gave examples of alleged misdeeds on the part of one of the politicians and asked what we thought about it. In instances such as that, I not only take a perverse pleasure in confounding the survey, but I could argue that it is our responsibility to keep these surveyors from skewing our opinions for their own purposes.

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  • September 27, 2008 by Lady Goody

    How about just telling the truth and let them know you don't agree with them?

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  • October 7, 2008 by Stephen R

    Patrick -- I am in the NRA currently, and I would get the calls as well -- not polls, but the "Wayne LaPierre has an important recorded message for you..." calls. Then would come the recording -- so loud I could hold the phone six inches away from my ear and hear it clearly, and Mr. LaPierre using grossly histrionic language to try to get me scared. I would wait on the line for the operator to come back, and tell them that while I strongly respect gun rights, the tone (and volume) of the recording makes the NRA look like the nutcase extremists their opponents accuse them of being. I did this twice. About a month later I got another one of the calls, and the tone had _noticeably_ changed. I have no doubt that this change only happened because I, and others, called them on it and voiced our disapproval. So, no, I don't lie to pollsters, ever. I sometimes don't answer, but I am also willing to call a push-poller a fraud and a liar, and I will say so directly.

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• September 19, 2008 by James Allard

  I don't lie to them. I just don't respond. Who I am going to vote for is... ready? ... NO ONE'S BUSINESS. EVER. PERIOD. Have a nice day.

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• October 8, 2008 by Brian Welden

  I dislike the entire polling process and its potential to influence the outcome of an election. Most politicians today spend an inordinate amount of effort trying to cater to the positions that the latest poll indicates will garner them the most votes. They would be much better off telling us what they really think about an issue than telling us what they think we want to hear. Voting should be a private matter!

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• October 15, 2008 by mrsgrim88

  If I'm busy, I just don't talk, but if I'm not, I just start talking real hick like, you know? And, well... I don't reckon I've give it much thought. You'd be surprised what those guys'll say when they think you're too dumb to call them on it and ask for proof of what they say. Here's what I want to know. How come, if I'm on a no-call list for telemarketers, I still get calls from pollsters and politicians?

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• October 31, 2008 by Joshua Martin

  I tell the truth; it shapes public opinion. All the more reason to be truthful. Also, why not ask questions of the pollster! Make sure you understand their creed and motive. Tell them you are telling the truth and that you would appreciate the same. Something else that has bothered me this year in the political campaigns coverage: television networks and other media in print and on the web that are not responsible in their coverage. The bias is insulting to Americans who want the truth about these candidates. This shapes public opinion much more than pollsters do.

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• November 1, 2008 by Merriel A. Blyler

  I am one of those people who calls and get opinions about the biggest problem facing this country. I represent the Republican party and you would not believe how many Democrat names have been given to me. I get some very rude answers and I take some of these answers very personally. Please tell the truth because only by this method can we know how the campaign is going.

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• April 30, 2010 by WP Themes

  Nice dispatch and this mail helped me alot in my college assignement. Gratefulness you as your information.

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• June 16, 2010 by Cheap Insurance Quotes

  Keep it clean, no wind and stay away from aluminum, it’s rather fickle!

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• October 31, 2010 by Twain Shakespeare

  I usually find that my answers fall into the "none of the above" catagory for at least one of several different reasons. In political polls, I don't know who I will vote for until I find someone I can vote for without puking on the ballot. If I can't, I write in a Mickey Mouse vote. In other polls, I either DONT OWN A TV! (That is the only answer I can make when the Nielsons call me) or because the question makes no sense, "Like do you believe in God/Evolution/Apple Pie?" So I figure if I don't lie, the pollsters will anyway. Peace, love, wisdom

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