It appears the the OC Register cheats on its online poll. In a poll on March 17 asking "Should the 12 million illegal immigrants now in America be allowed to become legal permanent residents?" the Register reported that out of 2018 online and telephoned votes, 9% were "yes" and 81% were "no." However, at 11:30 p.m. last night the poll indicated that there were 204 votes for "yes," more than ten percent of the total. It showed 187 votes for "no."

Also dubious are the number of telephoned votes the Register reports. Although the cut off time for the poll is not known, from the online figures it would seem that over 1500 calls, or roughly one each minute for 24 hours, were made to the Register's switchboard.

Online and call-in polls are notoriously unscientific, relying on highly motivated respondents rather than a random sample, and carelessly worded questions. Nevertheless, they do influence broader public perception of the population group, in this case readers of the Register. They may also influence editorial policy.

In this case, however, the numbers appear to be deliberately skewed to reflect editorial policy. The inability of the newspaper of record for Orange County to accurately report its own survey raises concerns about the paper's commitment to reporting basic facts in all of its reporting. And it raises more doubts on the reliability of media reporting in general, already plummeting in public confidence.