The Poll was started in 1971 by Rutgers ’ Eagleton Institute of Politics, with a grant from the Wallace Eljabar Fund (the forerunner of The Fund for New Jersey ).  In a state dwarfed by its big media neighbors of New York City and Philadelphia to the north and south, its primary mission was simply to focus attention on the state of New Jersey as a state.  It is one of the grandfathers of statewide polling operations, most of which sprang into existence in the 1980s, and one of the first, and most respected, academic-based state polling organizations in the country.  From 1983 – 2005 Eagleton partnered with the Newark Star-Ledger to produce the Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers Poll. 

            In 1983 the Eagleton Poll entered into partnership with the Star-Ledger, the state’s largest and most visible newspaper, becoming the Star-Ledger/Eagleton Poll.  The name was changed in 1999 to “The Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers Poll to reflect Rutgers’ increased commitment to the enterprise.  This partnership conducts surveys of the New Jersey public on issues of social and political import six to eight times per year.  Each of these surveys generates about five news releases, released in the newspaper and made available to other journalistic organizations and the general public.  

            Over the years the mission of the Poll has remained steadfast, but has also grown.  It now sees its mission as the “poll of record” for the state, a chronicler of political and social life in the state of New Jersey, with time-series data reaching back over three decades, a data-base no other statewide poll can begin to match. 

            In partnership with the Rutgers University Libraries’ Scholarly Communication Center, the Poll has established the Eagleton Poll Archive. This searchable website provides access to over 30 years of New Jersey public opinion. The archive allows users to search fully indexed questionnaires, to browse by subject or poll date, and to run their own results and generate charts for each question. For those interested in more detailed analysis, the complete SPSS data files and questionnaires can be downloaded.