… News organizations generally conduct their polls on issues that are in the headlines, and it’s usually a safe assumption that Americans are familiar with the basic issues and should be able to offer an opinion. …
What pollsters have learned is that people generally have formed opinions on a topic, but can be easily tempted to pick the “don’t know” option, if it is provided.
On that answer, we’ve seen what seem like small gaps between men and women get magnified. CONT.
Allison Kopicki, New York Times