[MR] polling response percentages

[Telara at aol.com]

Good gentles, 

If we are looking at a "polling" as a "voting process", perhaps we should look to the mundane office of President of the United States. I believe the last election, there were less than 10% of the American people voting to elect a leader for our country. 

I have been told that in the SCA a "polling" is NOT a vote, and no matter what a polling my say, the Crown can make choices as It sees fit. So how does this situation differ?

If we treat a Polling as a vote process, wouldn't we then have to ammend our SCA law to require some quorum of the total populace when it comes to polling respondants? And if a polling is handled as a "vote", then any polling might have an automatic number in the guildelines which states that "if x number of total responses are not received by the deadline..." and whatever the consequences would be. 

However, based on what I've learned in my first year in the SCA, it seems that this might grind all SCA processes to a halt. What if we NEVER get enough people responding - don't we still need to make decisions?

In reading the e-mails about the "poor showing" in the polling responses, it appears to me that we are confusing a polling with a majority vote process. I don't think these two things should be confused in this manner. 

Can one assume that "no response" means people don't care one way or the other about the polling issue? And if this assumption is the base of a polling, then anyone with an opinion will voice it, yea or nea. And once voiced, it is then a Crown issue to resolve and make the decision taking the will of the responding populace into account. 

Or did I get it wrong?  Am I not understanding the difference between a "polling" and a "majority vote"?

In service (even when confused),
Lady Honora le Brun