Chris Hayes uses polls to find out what voters think of the issues.
As a legislative policy analyst for the conservative Civitas Institute since 2005, Hayes helps write the questions for 11 monthly DecisionMaker polls.
The polls are conducted by live operators working with TelOpinion Research in Alexandria, Va. Except for one poll a year, questions are closed, meaning that respondents are forced to answer one of the available options.
In the past, liberal groups have argued that some Civitas questions are biased, but Hayes says his goal is to find out the mood of the electorate.
"We're looking at the voters who we think will be making the decisions and what they are thinking," he said. "We do a lot on specific proposals before the General Assembly. We definitely have a niche there."
Civitas typically polls 800 people who have voted in the last two statewide general elections or registered to vote in the last two years. In light of high turnout, they recently loosened their standards to the last three elections.
That method makes their numbers in primary races less reliable, but Hayes says their poll is not focused on the horse race anyway.
Previously: Meet Hunter Bacot, Tom Jensen.
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