polling
v.v. to ask many people for their opinion to find out what the public thinks. In computing, it also means checking a device or program regularly to see if it is ready or has new data.
v. to record the opinion or vote of a group of people; in a technical context, to sample a device or process systematically to determine its status. Often used in the present participle form to describe the ongoing act of data collection.
The news agency is polling voters to predict the election results.
The software is constantly polling the server to check for new messages without requiring a manual refresh.
By polling a diverse cross-section of the electorate, researchers hope to identify shifting allegiances that traditional surveys might have overlooked during the previous cycle.
The verb is transitive when referring to people or devices; it can be intransitive in technical contexts describing a repetitive cycle.
The government is polling about the new lawThe government is polling the public on the new lawWhen used to mean surveying people, the verb is transitive and requires a direct object representing the group being asked.