About CitizensPoll
Every citizen deserves a say.
Ever heard about a political poll on the news and thought, "nobody asked me"? Or skipped a call from an unknown number because it might have been a scam? Traditional polls reach a small slice of people, and the results don't always match what you see around you.
CitizensPoll gives everyone the chance to answer the same kinds of questions the big polling firms ask. Our goal is to build the largest verified public opinion panel in North America, and to be completely open about how it works.
It's not all serious, either. Our fun polls let you rate the latest movies, games, gadgets and trends, so you can see what everyone thinks before you spend your money. Got an idea? Drop it in our suggestion inbox.
Our methodology
Who can vote
Every voter verifies a mobile phone number with a one-time text code. Canadian polls accept Canadian numbers only, American polls accept American numbers only, and fun polls are open to verified voters anywhere. We block internet-based numbers where we can.
One person, one vote
Each verified number can cast one ballot per poll. Ballots cannot be changed once submitted.
How your privacy is protected
Ballots are stored separately from phone numbers, using a one-way code that prevents double voting but can't be traced back to you. We only ever publish totals. Breakdowns by region, age or gender only appear once a group has at least 10 voters, so nobody's individual answer can be worked out.
Voters can also tell us, optionally, how they voted in the last national election. That answer is never shown on its own. It lets us check whether one side is overrepresented in our results and balance them against real election outcomes, the same way professional online pollsters do.
What our results mean
CitizensPoll is an open, voluntary-response poll: anyone eligible can choose to take part. That makes it different from scientific polls, which contact a random sample of people and adjust (weight) the results to match the population.
Our results are not based on recognized statistical sampling methods, are not weighted, and have no margin of error. They show what verified participants said, and may lean toward the people most interested in each topic. We show the number of voters on every result so you can judge for yourself.
As our panel grows, we plan to publish demographically weighted results alongside the raw numbers.
Independent
CitizensPoll is independent and not affiliated with any party, campaign or government. We are supported by voluntary donations from people who believe in the project.