Interpreting Polls

Quorum

For a poll to be a meaningful way to determine the consensus of a group, it must have both:

• Attendance Quorum: A sufficiently representative and diverse set of stakeholders must have a chance to participate in the poll.
• Participation Quorum: A sufficiently proportion of those who had a chance to participate in the poll must choose to do so.

The acceptable criterion will vary from group to group and topic to topic.

Quorum is not strictly numeric. It's not just about having enough people, it's also about having the right people.

Poll Interpretations

Poll Result (Descriptive)	Poll Result (Formulaic)	Poll Interpretation
All votes were in favor. No one voted against or neutral.	against == 0 && neutral == 0	Unanimous consensus in favor.
All votes were in favor or neutral. Votes in favor outnumber neutral votes by more than 2 to 1.	against == 0 && favor / neutral > 2	Strong consensus in favor.
Votes in favor outnumber votes against or neutral by more than 3 to 1.	favor / (against + neutral) > 3	Consensus in favor.
Votes in favor outnumber votes against or neutral by more than 2 to 1.	favor / (against + neutral) > 2	Weak consensus in favor.
All votes were against. No one voted in favor or neutral	favor == 0 && neutral == 0	Unanimous consensus against.
All votes were against or neutral. Votes against outnumber neutral votes by more than 2 to 1.	favor == 0 && against / neutral > 2	Strong consensus against.
Votes against outnumber votes in favor or neutral by more than 3 to 1.	against / (favor + neutral) > 3	Consensus against.
Votes against outnumber votes in favor or neutral by more than 2 to 1.	against / (favor + neutral) > 2	Weak consensus against.
Any outcome not listed above.		No consensus.