| Marist Institute of Public Opinion | |
| Abbreviation: | MIPO |
| Key People: | Lee Miringoff (Director of MIPO) Barbara Carvalho (Director of Marist Poll) |
| Formation: | 1978 |
| Headquarters: | Poughkeepsie, New York |
| Affiliations: | Marist College |
| Website: | maristpoll.marist.edu |
The Marist Poll, founded in 1978, is a national public opinion poll operated by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion (MIPO)[1] on the campus of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.[2] The poll was one of the first college-based public opinion polls in the United States. MIPO regularly measures public opinion, both in New York State and across the country.[3] In 2020, polls were conducted in Arizona, Florida, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.[4] The Marist Poll is highly respected, with an 'A' rating from ABC News' FiveThirtyEight, and is often cited by journalists and pundits around the world.[5]
MIPO was founded in 1978 by Dr. Lee Miringoff, former President of the National Council of Public Polls, as a poll on Dutchess County elections for a political science class he was teaching on voting behavior.[6] [7] [8] MIPO was reportedly the first college-based survey center in the nation to involve undergraduates in the direct interaction and conducting of all its surveys.[9]
While most of the polls are political in nature, MIPO does frequently conduct polls deemed to be in other areas of public interest. Other subjects commonly polled by MIPO include sports, economics, society and technology.[10] [11]
In 2012, the Marist Poll teamed with NBC News and The Wall Street Journal to conduct surveys in key presidential battleground states.[12] Consequently, MIPO accurately predicted the results of the presidential contest and U.S. Senate and governor races in each of these states.[13]
During the summer of 2013, MIPO announced they have conducted a survey on Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in Major League Baseball. Specifically, the poll asked whether or not players linked to clinics that provide PEDs, such as Biogenesis, should be suspended—even if they did not fail a drug test. The second question asked if players who used PEDs should receive eligibility for the Hall of Fame.[14]
On the October 22, 2013 edition of Real Sports that HBO's longtime, sports-themed monthly newsmagazine and the Marist Poll have launched a new, indefinite joint-polling initiative. Towards the end of the program on October 22, host Bryant Gumbel announced the results of a HBO Real Sports/Marist Poll: a comprehensive national survey conducted by the Marist Poll in mid-July, 2013 with more than 1,200 Americans over the age of 17 on the topic of concussions and brain trauma in football.[15]
In 2015, Marist temporarily suspended polling of the candidates for nomination during the Democratic primaries and Republican primaries out of concern that polls were being inappropriately used to decide who was included and excluded from the primaries.[16] [17]