An opt-in panel for honest Alaska polling
polling-platform is a standing group of Alaskans who answer short surveys about state and federal races, ballot measures, and the issues local coverage actually wrestles with. We are an opt-in volunteer panel — not a probability-sampled phone survey. We say so on every published result, and we publish the methodology so you can decide how much weight to give it.
How it works
1. Sign up once
30 seconds: phone number, name, ZIP, age band. You verify a 6-digit code so we know it's a real reachable Alaskan.
2. Get invited
1–4 short surveys a month. We text you a link, or place an AI-voice call — your choice each time.
3. Take it your way
Web takes ~3 minutes. Phone takes ~2 minutes. Either mode, your answers are recorded the same way.
4. See results published
Every survey gets a public results page with N, mode split, version, and methodology note. You see exactly what we publish.
What we ask
Surveys are short. A typical one has 5–10 questions in one of four formats:
- Single choice. Pick one (e.g. “If the election were held today, who would you vote for for U.S. Senate?”).
- Ranked choice. Order a slate of candidates — useful because Alaska uses RCV.
- Scale. Rate something 1-to-5 or strongly disagree to strongly agree.
- Short text. A sentence or two in your own words. We publish themes, not your exact text.
What we publish
Every survey gets its own public results page with N, the version that ran, mode split (phone vs web), an honest methodology note about the reader-frame, and the question wording verbatim. No paywalls.
Frequency & time
- 1–4 surveys a month, depending on what races are active. Quieter months between elections.
- ~2 minutes by phone, ~3 minutes on the web.
- You pick the mode each time the invitation arrives.
Privacy
We separate your identity from your answers in everything we publish. Only the small core team can re-link them, and only to invite you to a future survey or honor an opt-out. We never sell, trade, or share panel data with third parties. We never share your individual responses with any campaign, PAC, or government agency.
You can opt out at any time: reply STOP to any text, say “stop” or press 9 during a call, or use the opt-out page.
Compensation
There is no payment. This panel is civic infrastructure, not a marketplace. The reward is seeing what your neighbors think on questions that matter to Alaska — published openly, methodology and all.
FAQ
Who runs this panel?
polling-platform is an independent civic-research panel. A small core team designs the surveys, runs the platform, and publishes results. We publish the methodology and the code openly so anyone can audit how a result was reached.
How is the panel funded?
It is run as civic infrastructure, not a marketplace. There are no sponsors paying for individual surveys, and panelists are never paid. That funding posture is the reason we can publish methodology unedited and refuse to run questions a sponsor would want.
Who sees my individual answers?
Only the small core team that maintains the platform can re-link your phone number to your answers, and only to invite you to future surveys or honor an opt-out. Nothing we publish — charts, crosstabs, downloads — shows individual responses tied to identity.
What if I move out of Alaska?
You can update your ZIP at any time on your profile page, or just opt out. The panel is for Alaskans on Alaska questions — we don't want stale geography skewing results.
Can I quit?
Yes, any time. Reply STOP to any text, say "stop" or press 9 during a call, or use the opt-out page. The opt-out is honored across SMS and voice both.
Does this affect my vote, my voter registration, or my eligibility for anything?
No. This is opinion research. We are not a campaign, not a PAC, not a government agency, and we share nothing with any of them.
Is this representative of Alaska?
Not yet, and we say so on every result page. This is an opt-in volunteer panel — a real but limited frame, not a probability sample. We disclose the opt-in caveat inline and publish a sample-vs-AK-Census comparison so you can judge for yourself. Long-form context lives in our methodology doc.
Why phone calls with an AI voice?
Phone is the only way to reach Alaskans who don't read political coverage online. An AI voice keeps cost low enough to actually call the whole panel each month, and every call identifies itself as an AI assistant at the start — no deception.
What if I find an error in a published result?
Open an issue on the GitHub repository (linked in the footer) with the URL and what looks wrong. Corrections are appended to the original page; we don't quietly edit numbers.
Will my data be sold?
No. Panel data is never sold, traded, or shared with third parties for marketing. The only outputs are the public dashboards and aggregated downloads on this site.
Ready to join?
Signup takes about 30 seconds. We'll text a 6-digit verification code.