Voter opinion polls are often disparaged because they are seen as inaccurate or misused by network news shows eager to boost ratings. However, those who want to discredit voter opinion polling for elections overlook a few facts. First, the last week or two before an election is notoriously volatile. Voters finally decide whether or not to vote and undecided voters make up their minds about the candidates for whom they will vote. This means that polls taken too far in advance of an election cannot possibly forecast with precision the outcome of that election. Second, exit polls differ from most other types of scientific polling, mainly because dispersed polling places preclude exit pollsters from using normal sampling methods. However, debating whether voter polls are accurate or not misses the point. Voter polls are not intended to forecast winners and losers. They are designed to describe the broad spectrum of public opinion and to elucidate what voters are really thinking and what policies are most important to them. In fact, most of what we know about voter behavior and policy preferences comes from past opinion polls about elections. Understood in this context, we should not dismiss polling outright, but instead consider how to improve polling and to use it to its best advantage.

"Elucidate" most nearly means

A. confound.
B. elevate.
C. vanquish.
D. illuminate.
E. predict.



Which of the following expresses the author's thesis about voter opinion polls?

A. They can never predict the results of an election.
B. They can help us get a sense of the general trend in an election.
C. They can help undecided voters make up their minds.
D. They are misused by the news media.
E. They are highly unpredictable.