Was the Poll Possible at any other College?

The Marist Poll runs our of the third floor of Hancock in a collaborative conference room.

Source: Eve Fisher '23

The founding of the Marist Poll is shrouded in mystery. Co-director of the Marist Poll, Barbara Carvalho, gives credit to Lee Miringoff. 

“It was suggested that we should do a poll and there were a lot of historical interpretations of how that happened,” Miringoff said. “Some say Barb was a student in the class and she suggested it, but it depends on who you are talking to.”

Miringoff was teaching a class on voting opinion at Marist College in 1978. The class organized an exit poll on election day, recruiting 100 students to talk to voters. By 1982, polling went statewide in New York. Mario Cuomo was elected governor of New York and was thought to be a future presidential candidate, something that gave the poll a larger platform. 

“We were the only independent source of polling information in New York at the time and we were able to document his rise in the polls so news about him was not just New York news, but in essence national news,” Miringoff said.

That was the first survey conducted by what evolved into the Marist Poll, the first college-based research center in Poughkeepsie, New York. 

The timing was everything. Before 1980, polling could only be done by large organizations with massive computing power and communication capabilities. So, the beginning of the computer and communications revolution provided an opening for a smaller school to enter the field. Carvalho saw it as a perfect opportunity for students from all majors to develop the skills to communicate with people from all walks of life.

“It was the beginning of being able to provide students with a math background the skills to communicate with people,” she said. “And students who were liberal arts students could learn about researching data.”

Miringoff built up a network of journalists, pollsters and political scientists, something that was fostered by the poll’s partnerships with NBC and PBS NewsHour. The poll may work on writing specific questionnaires for their media partners, but they also prioritize surveys for students. 

Since the poll’s inception, it has continued to evolve with the changing technology. What began with landline phone calls and answers written with pencil and paper turned into a computer program. There was an internet, but not one that was accessible to the mass public. 

However, the way a survey is designed and how the poll analyzes the information has not changed. The content has morphed to reflect societal expectations. 

“We are still dealing with the same issues we were dealing with decades ago, just the language that we use to talk to each other and about each other has certainly changed,” Carvalho said. “For instance, how we characterize each other in terms of race and gender has changed significantly, how we talk about climate, the ideology of what it means to be a liberal or a conservative.”

The poll stopped asking whether their interviewees were liberal, moderate or conservative because they found it no longer resonated. Just like any effective survey, they still present questions as unbiased as possible. Questions cannot be inflammatory or be associated with one group’s views over another. 

Every morning, the administrative team, including Miringoff and Carvalho, meet on Zoom at 10 a.m. to discuss short term issues or larger project planning. Beyond that, they go their separate ways and discuss any updates on Slack.  

It takes about a week to plan questionnaires, but the fastest they will put one out to surveyors is three days. Much of the day is spent in collaborative meetings, checking in with students and analyzing polling data. 

With over 400 student employees, the poll relies on the innovative ideas and dedication from students to conduct any kind of research. Media intern Eve Fisher helps the poll with anything from copywriting to podcast segments. 

Although the polling room can be quiet during the day, Fisher appreciates how encouraging her bosses are in wanting her to take initiative and pitch her own ideas. 

“​​I have idea pages in my notebook that look really chaotic, but they know I love brainstorming so they give me the opportunity to work on that,” Fisher said. “Sometimes we have meetings where we just shout out ideas and write on the white boards.”

Carvalho believes that students like Fisher are the reason that the Poll has found such national acclaim. 

“The curiosity, energy, work ethic and the commitment of students made this program happen,” Carvalho said. “I don’t know if that could have happened at other colleges, the way it did at Marist.”