I’m reading a slew of very similar postmortems for the polling business, in which I’ve worked my entire career. The story goes something like this: After a major miss in 2016, the industry just got 2020 just as wrong. Many say polls patently failed to find hidden or reluctant Trump voters again; others say methodological flaws are more profound in the internet age; others say there are deep and perhaps fatal foundational problems that are beyond repair.
But let’s not write the obituary of the public opinion polling industry quite yet. We need to wait for the final vote count. Although the Wednesday or Thursday following Election Day is always popular time for “the polls were wrong” stories, it is premature. Finish the count, then undertake the poll autopsy with the final results. There’s no rush. CONT.
Lee Miringoff (Marist College) Daily News