Act, Section 3-F-2

An initiative shall qualify for election if the subject matter described in the title and summary is approved in a public opinion poll. To qualify by this method, the polling plan, including the number of respondents, the methodology and the entity that will conduct the poll, shall be approved by the Electoral Trust.

Parrish Report

The use of a public opinion poll of registered voters to determine the level of citizen interest in an initiative has not as yet been employed by any state; however, it will be an inexpensive, as well as the most accurate, method for ascertaining the level of citizen interest in an initiative. The Electoral Trust must approve the polling methodology, the question(s) included in the poll and the firm conducting the poll prior to its being undertaken. The Electoral Trust will also specify the percentage of affirmative responses in the poll required for qualification.

Feedback from the 2002 Democracy Symposium

Allen, 2002, p. 14 wrote:
I think relying on public opinion polling to qualify constitutional amendments would be the kiss of death for this proposal. There are indeed aspects of modern technology that should be explored for this purpose, such as electronic signatures, but I urge the drafters to reconsider this aspect of the statute.

Stern & Holman, 2002, p. 5 wrote:

The Act has a very creative alternative to signature qualification. It allows the sponsors to commission a poll. If 50% of the persons polled indicate that they would like the measure on the ballot, it qualifies for the ballot. In smaller jurisdictions, this may not be cost effective, but in large jurisdictions or nationally, this is a much less expensive way to qualify for the ballot. The one concern that must be addressed is the public’s reaction to the idea of a poll putting something on the ballot. The public, for some reason, believes that the signature procedure is the most effective way of determining whether a measure should go on the ballot. All jurisdictions that have an initiative process only use the signature method. Because the polling feature is new, it must be carefully drawn to instill confidence in the public.

Listen to some discussion on the polling option from the Democracy Symposium (3m 4s).

Also see Warren, 2002