Official 50 Set 1
Straw Poll
We wanna get a feel for the student body's political leanings.
Like, who students are planning to vote for, which political party people identify with, that sorta thing.
Oh sure. I helped students run a straw poll once, years ago.
But I was thinking—there's a couple of local ballot questions this year, you know, referenda that voters can either support or not support ...
Right, there's one on whether to ban smoking in restaurants, and another one, uh ... I think it's whether to spend tax dollars for a new sports arena in the city.
In regular elections, the vast majority of voters ignore referenda; they vote for their favorite candidates, but avoid ballot questions.
We believe it's because voters aren't familiar with the questions or don't understand them.
But actively educating people on ballot questions right before they vote can improve referendum participation rates ...
[excited] In that case, maybe we could have our straw-poll Web site provide information on the ballot questions, like how each proposal would affect students ...
Exactly. And when you write your paper, you could compare the students' referendum voting rate to the general public's, and include your own analysis of the results.
Why does the professor mention paper ballots?
A. To show how a straw poll differs from an actual election
B. To stress the importance of keeping accurate records
C. To indicate that conducting a poll may present challenges
D. To suggest a way to improve communication between the student body and the student government
What is the student government's main reason for conducting a straw poll?
A. To educate students on the candidates’ positions
B. To remind students to vote in the upcoming election
C. To find out how students feel about the local referenda
D. To get an idea of students’ political preferences
