How Do Montanan’s Feel About Political Polls?

Political polls tend to get a lot of eye rolls. Most of us probably ignore those unrecognized numbers and let them go to voicemail. Nowadays, however, many of these pollsters are using text messaging or email to reach out. If you're a registered voter, they somehow know how to reach you.

I realize that I'm likely in the minority here, but I’ll admit something that might surprise people... I actually enjoy answering political polls.

Not because I assume my response will change the course of democracy. That would be silly. But for a couple of minutes, it feels like someone actually wants to know what a regular Montanan thinks. And that doesn’t seem to happen all that often.

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Living in Montana comes with a unique political reality.

We’re a small state population-wise, and our four measly electoral votes for who sits at the big desk in the White House rarely matter. However, with one party holding a slim majority, our two Congressmen (or women) and two Representatives in Washington are kind of a big deal.

Traditionally, Montana voters have been famously independent.

It’s not unusual to find people who split tickets or vote differently from one election to the next. I've voted for Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and Libertarians over the years.

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So when a pollster calls, texts, or emails asking about a race or a political issue, there’s a tiny voice that says, “Hey… maybe my opinion actually counts.”

Will my lone poll response swing a statewide election?

No. However, it’s still kind of satisfying to imagine my answer getting logged somewhere in the giant spreadsheet of American democracy.

Of course, plenty of Montanans hate political polling. Some see it as intrusive, others think the questions are biased, and a lot of people simply refuse to answer unknown numbers anymore. If you hate polls, here's the nice thing... You can always ignore them.