Elway Research, Inc.is a Seattle-based public opinion

Public opinion

Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....

 research firm. Since 1975, Elway Research has research projects for major corporation

Corporation

A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...

s, media outlets, associations

Voluntary association

A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...

, foundations, campaigns and governmental agencies at all levels.

They publish The Elway Poll, a monthly, independent survey of Washington State voters. They directed The Seattle Times

The Seattle Times

The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...

 Washington Poll, and have done surveys for Knight Ridder

Knight Ridder

Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers sold.- History :The corporate ancestors of...

 and NBC News

NBC News

NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...

 in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

They conducted nationally acclaimed citizen engagement programs on government accountability and performance measurement

Performance Measurement

Performance measurement with a process is the complement to process execution. Based on measured performance, the feedback control loop may be closed. The metrics to assess performance is set according to a determined econometric model...

 for WA Governor Chris Gregoire and State Auditor Brian Sonntag

Brian Sonntag

Brian Sonntag is the State Auditor for Washington and a Democrat.Sonntag was first elected to public office in 1978 as Pierce County Clerk, working as the administrative officer for the Superior Courts. On November 4, 1986, he was elected to the office of Pierce County Auditor, an office his...

. These programs include computer-aided town hall meetings and the first-of-its-kind statewide interactive survey on live television

Live television

Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...

.

Elway Research also conducted interactive polling as part of the US Navy’s “Conversation with the Country,” a multi-city series of town hall meetings as part of the development a new maritime strategy for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Criticisms

The Elway Poll has come under increasing fire for the accuracy of its polls.. Looking back to the 2008 gubernatorial campaign in Washington state, The Elway Poll showing Gregoire leading by 12 to 16 points when other polls conducted at that time was only a 4 to 6 point lead for Gregiore. Ultimately, Gregoire won the election by around 6 points. Differentials such as these have led some Republican bloggers to discount The Elway Poll results altogether.