Logo TV and Harris Interactive 2012 LGBT Polls

Communications Challenges

1. Raise awareness of the attitudes of LGBT voters as an important constituency in the 2012 election cycle.

2. Use findings of surveys to call attention to two Logo TV televised specials about the election.

3. Leave behind valuable research for others studying the impact of LGBT voters.

Success

Working with Witeck Communications and Harris interactive, a benchmark poll was conducted and released immediately prior to the the Republican National Convention, which preceded the Democratic National Convention. Coverage of the poll was significant in the LGBT media and had moderate success in mainstream political coverage. A follow-up poll, released the week before the election, received good attention in the LGBT media and some mainstream coverage. 

The Harris Interactive online methodology allows for more cost-effective research of minority communities that are more difficult and expensive to reach through random-digit dialing methods. These tools were used in a similar effort in 2000, the first of its kind, in the OutVote 2000 project of the Gill Foundation. The dramatic shift in not only LGBT voter attitudes, but all voters toward LGBT issues that is demonstrated between the 2000 and 2012 surveys represents one of the most dramatic shifts on public policy issues in a relatively short span. The 2012 Logo TV and Harris Interactive follow-up poll proved to be one of the most accurate once the vote totals were counted.