Minnesota civic group says pollsters should ask voters for their first and second choices
Letter in the Star Tribune, July 15, 2010
Political polling: This should be the year to learn from it
Because of a rare situation of having no other races with which to share the spotlight, Minnesotans can focus attention on the race for governor as the dominant statewide contest this fall.
Moreover, the presence of three or more office-seekers in the August primaries and November's general election offers an excellent opportunity for an independent political polling organization to give voters something more than the usual tally.
While helping to reveal depth of support for candidates from the most-committed followers, the current approach doesn't reveal the breadth of support from a broader field of potential voters.
No change in law or approval from political parties is needed. Just a simple change in polling itself: A pollster would ask and report voters' first and second choices, not only their first choice, as at present.
Results could be reported in any number of ways, including the ranked-choice voting approach, now in use in some local elections in Minnesota. But even if that voting method never is enacted statewide, pollsters would be providing more enlightenment on voter sentiment.
The Civic Caucus, a nonpartisan public affairs educational organization, originally advanced this polling suggestion in 2007.
VERNE JOHNSON, CHAIR, AND PAUL GILJE, COORDINATOR, CIVIC CAUCUS