From the Niagara Falls Review:
Nik Wallenda knew something was up.
First he got an email from a fan congratulating him on the support on a Niagara Falls Review website poll. Then, a few minutes later, he got a call from his dad.
“He said ‘I’ve been keeping an eye on the polls. I just checked it and all of a sudden about 100 people voted against you.’ As we were talking he refreshed the page and another 40 or 50 people voted. I went online and it was at 1,300 within minutes,” Wallenda said from his home in Sarasota, Fla.
Online polls might not be scientific, but they typically show a general feeling of the population. In the case of Wallenda, the poll was asking whether or not people agreed with Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati supporting the tightrope walker’s proposal to walk across the Horseshoe Falls, or with Review city editor Corey Larocque, who was opposed. The two had debated the issue and the public was being asked to weigh in with their opinion.