Politicians need to adopt the practice of personalized polling more frequently, according to an editorial.
In a significant move towards inclusivity, a multilingual survey was recently conducted for New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani. The poll, made in four languages (English, Spanish, simplified Chinese, and Bangla), aimed to capture the voices of diverse communities and provide a comprehensive demographic picture of the likely voter electorate.
The survey, which asked 44 questions and was conducted from July 16-24, found Mamdani in the lead with an impressive 50% of the vote from poll respondents in the general election. This result suggests that surveying New Yorkers in their own languages delivers a unique perspective and may have played a crucial role in Mamdani's rise.
Political consultant Hank Sheinkopf found the multilingual approach smart but costly. However, the benefits seem to outweigh the costs, as keeping up with Mamdani's rise indicates. Many politicians have passed on the multilingual strategy due to its cost, but the survey's success may encourage more candidates to consider it a worthwhile expense.
The survey delved into detailed demographics, asking about national origin for Latinos, South Asians, and East Asians. It also asked about Jewish denomination, reflecting the diverse religious landscape of the city. Interestingly, John McLaughlin, who surveyed Spanish-speaking voters for Donald Trump, found him more favorable than those polled in English, demonstrating the strategy's effectiveness is not exclusive to the left.
The multilingual approach can potentially influence election results by addressing language and cultural barriers that otherwise suppress voter participation and distort polling accuracy. For instance, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the lack of multilingual poll workers caused Hispanic voters to face difficulties such as unrecognized registration records and communication barriers, ultimately preventing some from voting.
Multilingual communication tools and training for poll workers improve outreach efficacy and accessibility. Election offices implementing multilingual, configurable communication templates for emails, training materials, and FAQs achieve clearer, more inclusive engagement with diverse populations, which supports fairer election processes. Recruiting enough multilingual poll workers remains a challenge, but efforts to include multilingual students or community members are positive steps towards addressing this issue.
When done carefully, multilingual data collection enriches analysis and mitigates biases present in monolingual polling. While translations and linguistic complexities pose challenges requiring rigorous verification, the benefits of accurate representation and reduced barriers for non-English-speaking voters make it a worthwhile endeavour.
In the New York City mayoral race, the multilingual survey has shown its potential to broaden participation, capture diverse perspectives more accurately, and influence election results by improving representation and reducing barriers for non-English-speaking voters. As more candidates consider the multilingual approach, we may see a more inclusive and accurate reflection of the city's diverse electorate in future elections.
References: 1. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Multilingual Polling 2. Improving Voting Access for Limited English Proficient Voters 3. Multilingual Communication in Elections 4. The Impact of Multilingual Polling on Election Outcomes
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