How small is small? :)
I've seen some of the Ahnold/McClintock polls in the 1,200 - 1,500 response range. This is in a universe of 110,000+ registered freepers.
The FR polls are sometimes on my screen, sometimes not. they are also "pulled" for a new poll at irregular intervals.
Remember, nationwide, so-called "scientific polls, you know, those that are often so wrong (insert laugh here!) frequently poll 400-500 people in our country, with a population of 285,000,000+.
Polls are polls - a snapshot in time.
One last point re: FR polls. It is important to remember that out of those 110,000+ registered freepers, only about 2,500 - 3,500 post every day - and most of us are the same people every day. The vast majority lurk and thusly, never vote on FR polls.