The local news poll with 84% approval flipped after they changed one question

I check the city council poll on our news site every week. Last month it showed 84% support for the new bus route. This week they added the word 'tax-funded' to the same question and support dropped to 31%. Does anyone else track these subtle wording changes or am I just paranoid about how they shape the numbers?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sean1d ago

Remember when they changed the polling question about the airport expansion from "should we improve travel options" to "should we raise your property taxes to pay for it" and suddenly everyone was against it, which I get, but they never mentioned the state grant money already sitting there. It's wild how one little phrase can completely change what people think they're voting on. Take this with a grain of salt, but I've started screenshotting those polls every week just to see the pattern, and it's honestly more predictable than the weather forecast.

noahgreen2d ago

Wait, so did they also change the order of the questions or anything else, or was it literally just adding those two words that tanked it? Cause if it was just that, that's kind of terrifying how easy it is to flip public opinion.