As Election Day fast approaches, pundits, pollsters and politicians are weighing in with their opinions. These are either supported by statistics, based on experience or a recitation of their party’s respective messaging points. Yet 7-Eleven, that little store on the corner catering to everyday Americans, may have the hottest poll in the land.

That’s right: it’s 7-Election time — that unabashedly unscientific and remarkably accurate, just-for-fun presidential coffee-cup poll where citizens can vote early, late and often. All it takes is for customers to purchase their 20-ounce coffee choose a red or blue cup sporting the name of the Republican Sen. John McCain or Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama. Undecided customers need not choose sides — “unmarked” 7-Eleven hot beverage cups will still be available as well as a bipartisan red, white and blue Big Gulp fountain drink cups featuring both the donkey and elephant party symbols. The promotion runs through midnight Tuesday, Nov. 4.

In past presidential election years, 7-Election has surprised everyone with its folksy accuracy.  Results have closely mirrored the official surveys by the country’s top political pollsters. In the first 7-Election in 2000, only 1 percentage point separated the cup-counts of now-President George Bush and Democratic nominee, Sen. Al Gore. Likewise in 2004, President Bush out-cupped Sen. John Kerry, 51 percent to 49 percent.

Current 7-Election polling has Obama beating McCain 59.32 percent to 40.68 percent nationally and 60 percent to 40 percent in Illinois.

“When 7-Eleven held its first 7-Election eight years ago, we had no idea what the final results would be or how popular the cup poll would become,” said 7-Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto. “While we don’t bill this as a statistically valid study by any means, it does reach Americans in their hometowns, on their way to work, after school or just going about their everyday lives. 7-Election provides an interesting daily snapshot of the election.”

7-Election cups are instantly tabulated at the register when the sale is made. National and state results will be posted daily on www.7-election.com, a Web site created for the coffee-cup poll. Major market area and store results are also available upon request. Poll tallies will reflect the percent of candidate cups sold to date, not including undecided purchasers. Participating 7-Eleven stores are encouraged to post the latest race results at their coffee islands.

“7-Election is a warm-up for the real election on Nov. 4,” DePinto said. “While awareness of this presidential election hardly needs to be raised, 7-Eleven is providing a not-so-subtle daily reminder to its citizen customers about the importance of voting. Candidates might want to pay attention to this great coffee electorate and even stop by a local 7-Eleven store to campaign or grab a great cup of coffee."

Coffee marked 7-Eleven stores’ first self-serve beverage product and the first time any retailer offered fresh-brewed coffee in to-go cups. It proved an instant success. Today, 7-Eleven sells more fresh-brewed coffee than anything else — 1 million cups each day. That translates to approximately 10,000 pots of coffee brewed every hour. In each of the past 7-Election polls, more than 6 million cups were cast.

Coffee, a nonpartisan beverage choice for both Democrats and Republicans, has deep political roots in American history. In 1607, Captain John Smith in Virginia introduced coffee in America and it was named the national beverage by the First Continental Congress after the Boston Tea Party.