Question

What important information is omitted from this ad?

"Nine out of ten voters favor lowering property taxes."

where the voters reside
how the question was phrased and under what conditions
what the average amount of property taxes paid is

Answer 1

All three. The ad omits each of those important details — and each omission can change how convincing the claim is:

- Where the voters reside: The poll could be from a single city/neighborhood, a particular state, or nationwide. Local results don’t necessarily generalize.

- How the question was phrased and under what conditions: Wording, order, and whether tradeoffs were presented (e.g., “lower property taxes even if it means cuts to schools?”) can strongly affect responses. Also omitted: sampling method, sample size, margin of error, who conducted the poll, and when it was done.

- What the average amount of property taxes paid is: If most respondents pay very little, strong support for cuts may be less surprising or less relevant to jurisdictions where taxes are higher.

Because those details aren’t given, the statistic is weak evidence by itself.