straw poll

Defined
An unofficial vote that is used to gauge the possible outcome of an official vote in an upcoming election. If enough randomly selected voters participate in a straw poll it can be one effective measure of voter sentiment. Some straw polls, however, allow candidates to manipulate the outcome by offering food, transportation, entertainment and other inducements to voters.

Republican presidential hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to the Family Research Council, a conservative advocacy group, Friday, Oct. 19, 2007, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Example
"Those who came to the Family Research Council's Washington Briefing 2007: Values Voter Summit descended into a deeply guarded place, a sheltered bubble worthy of the lost city of Atlantis -- if Atlantis had been ruled by Jesus or Ronald Reagan ... one finds a devoted group looking for someone to devote themselves to. For the most part they are without a candidate, despite the controversial results of a straw poll in which Mitt Romney narrowly defeated Mike Huckabee." (The Washington Post, Oct. 19, 2007)

HISTORY
Originally used to determine a small portion of public opinion, today a straw poll is seen as method to determine the strength of a political candidate. The term derives from both the small and unimportant qualities associated with straw as well as the act of measuring wind speed and direction by throwing a piece of straw into the air. As English scholar John Selden (1584-1654) once said, "A Straw, thrown up in to the air will show how the wind sits, which cannot be learned by casting up a stoone" (source: "Safire's New Political Dictionary," by William Safire)

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