Information & the record
opinion poll
A survey estimating what a population thinks, from a sample. Its usefulness depends on who was asked, how, and how the answers were weighted.
In full
The number to check first is not the result but the method: sample size, mode, field dates, the population sampled (adults, registered voters, or likely voters), and the weighting. Likely-voter models are judgment calls that can move a headline number by several points, which is why two honest polls taken the same week can disagree.
Also written as: polling
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.