straw poll

British  

noun

1. an unofficial poll or vote taken to determine the opinion of a group or the public on some issue

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straw poll Cultural  

1. Originally, a small, informal opinion survey. Today, a straw poll is generally a large-scale, scientifically determined public opinion survey based on a random sample of the population. Straw polls are commonly used to test public opinion of candidates running for office.

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Example Sentences

Ms. Noem and Mr. Ramaswamy each garnered 15 percent of the vote in the straw poll.

From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2024

A Reuters straw poll of two dozen voters around the country found many with little enthusiasm for any party and torn between what they viewed as the least bad choice.

From Reuters • Jul. 21, 2023

I conducted a straw poll on one of my mum’s WhatsApp groups.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2023

Over the past few weeks, I have been going through my phone contacts and took a straw poll from colleagues to see what their respective experiences were tracking their ancestry.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2023

Mr. Johnson declared his candidacy at a private event at the conference two days before the straw poll concluded.

From Washington Times • Mar. 7, 2023