Mr Allawi did even better as an individual, polling at 35% against 11% for his closest competitor, Ibrahim al-Jaafari of the Dawa Party, probably the Alliance's strongest component.

ECONOMIST: Iraq: It'll soon be time, at last, to vote | The

But in America even national elections remain local affairs, with polling places and procedures determined by individual counties.

ECONOMIST: Washington state politics

More than 100, 000 members weighed in on 70 polling questions, offering more than two million individual responses.

FORBES: Gamers Call The Debate For Obama