The expression Straw Poll is used to describe a study of general opinion. It’s used widely in politics to assess the overall views of the people by taking small random samples of opinion and using it to gauge wider feeling. The phrase began to be used in America in 1824, when reporters from the Harrisburg Pennsylvanian questioned a sample of people in Wilmington in an attempt to predict the overall result of a vote. Their findings proved accurate and so were seen as such a success that the idea has been used in almost every election ever since. The actual words come from the practice of throwing a handful of straw into the air to find out the direction the wind’s blowing.