With Labor Day almost here, the traditional start of the campaign season, a raft of new polls has arrived, giving insights into which candidates have the lead but also why and what Americans think about the issues the country faces.
It’s commonplace for people to say they don’t trust polls or don’t like them. Certainly some politicians misuse them to substitute numbers for principles. And polls are, of course, no more perfect than any other human invention.
But despite much carping to the contrary, polls have a remarkably good record of accuracy in American elections — even in 2016. More important, polling is the one element of the political process that allows us to hear directly what voters from all parts of the country and all walks of life have to say. So, let’s dive in. CONT.
David Lauter, Los Angeles Times