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straw vote
noun
: an unofficial vote taken (as at a chance gathering) to indicate the relative strength of opposing candidates or issues
called also straw poll
Examples of straw vote in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The council is scheduled to hold straw votes on the budget in a week and approve a final budget June 10.
—Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 24 May 2024
The commission plans to hold straw votes on the budget on May 30 and adopt a final budget June 4.
—Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 16 May 2024
While a final list of cuts the council proposed was made public last week ahead of a straw vote, the process of reaching consensus played out privately.
—Katie Shepherd, Washington Post, 25 May 2023
With local Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) and some residents lobbying hard against a name change, the committee decided in a 12-5 straw vote vote last month that there wasn’t a compelling enough reason to recommend that the district be renamed.
—Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2022
The unofficial, closed-door, straw vote was 4 to 3, which meant that Beutner’s selection hinged on the vote of Ref Rodriguez, who was facing charges on campaign-finance violations and managed to stay in office just long enough to provide a swing vote.
—Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2021
Subsequently, voting was downgraded to a straw vote and the resolution will formally be voted on by an electronic vote at a later date.
—Krzysztof Bolejko, Discover Magazine, 31 Aug. 2018
On July 14, city councilors on the Public Facilities and Programs and Services committees voted unanimously in a straw vote to move forward with a new building, Fuller said.
—BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2021
The council’s 11-3 informal straw vote to cut police overtime came late Wednesday during a budget briefing that began in the morning and wrapped at 1:30 a.m. the following day.
—Kevin Krause, Dallas News, 4 Sep. 2020
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Word History
First Known Use
1866, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near straw vote
Cite this Entry
“Straw vote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/straw%20vote. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
straw vote
noun
: an unofficial vote
called also straw poll
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