Will Johnson, CEO of The Harris Poll, is an optimist, both about polling, and about America. Having looked closely at the data, Johnson sees less division in the country than the fights on social media would suggest
As America heads into another election season, voters once again turn to pollsters for insights into how the results may turn out. After predictions that missed the mark during the 2016 and—to some extent—the 2020 presidential elections, people’s faith in polls has been shaken. So TIME asked The Harris Poll, which doesn’t do any political horse-race polling, to look at attitudes towards the polling industry. The news was mixed.
People are becoming very disenchanted with institutions—with media, government, law enforcement, scientific and academic institutions, and with health institutions and schools. How is that reflected in your data? And having that discipline to say, ‘Let me explain and give you context behind this whole survey of what we’re looking at,’ whether it was polling about an issue or candidate or whatever. It may not be as dramatic as we’d all like, or as exciting. But it’s truth. The way people live and the way they consume has changed. And the way they take polls is just like everything else—it’s moving faster and faster and faster. So we just had to reprioritize.
The poll also showed that more than 70% of your survey participants say that the media misrepresents the results of polls. Is that also your view? As we’ve seen trust erode in big institutions, business has no choice but to get involved in these issues. Not only are their customers demanding it, but we see their employees—particularly this new kind of millennial workforce—say you can’t just stay out of the political fray. With that said, I think brands really need to be thoughtful about how they think about these particular issues.