Deliberative Polling-Kathy Smith

On Saturday, Sept. 27, approximately 400 participants convened at
sites across Pennsylvania for the first statewide “Deliberative Poll® on
the Issue of Marriage in America,”presented by the
Southwestern Pennsylvania Program for Deliberative Democracy (SPPDD).
Community College of Philadelphia was one of only four host sites for the
poll and the only community college to participate. Other host sites
include Slippery Rock University, Shippensburg University and Carnegie
Mellon University.

A deliberative poll begins when a random sample of the population
receives information on a particular issue. For this poll, participants
selected from voter registration records from the counties surrounding
the four sites will read background materials on the historical,
religious and societal aspects of marriage. The materials compare
and contrast the Pennsylvania legislature’s Marriage Protection Act with
the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriages and
the Vermont legislation that legalized civil unions in that state.

On the day of the poll, the participants gathered in small, moderated
groups to discuss and deliberate the topic amongst themselves and with
experts and then respond to a survey. Under the able leadership of faculty members Nicole Vadino of the Social Science Department and Julie Gurner of the Behavioral Science Department, the project trained students as moderators and paired them with faculty members who lead small group discussions on the issue of what marriage should mean.  The success of the day was evident in the sense of community created and the comments of participants, most of whom were visiting the college for the first time.

 The post-survey results bore out the sense of the day. Participants at CCP indicated higher levels of satisfaction and lower levels of frustration with the experience than did those at any other sites.  Preliminary survey results can be found at http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/caae/dp/polls/fall08/index.html