If President Barack Obama loses big Eastern states like Florida and Ohio on November 6, Western swing states like Colorado and Nevada could help him hold on to the White House. Polls in Colorado and Nevada make the states look like anything but sure bets for the president, but there’s […] Read more »
Marketplace: How do you know if a poll is right?
Each week, Gallup’s editor-in-chief Frank Newport joins us to discuss how people are feeling about the news by looking at what Gallup’s polls have uncovered from our collective subconscious. But in the past week, Gallup’s polls themselves have been in the news. [cont.] Kai Ryssdal, Marketplace Read more »
Networks, AP Changing Exit Poll Strategy
A growth in early voting and tough economy for the media are forcing changes to the exit poll system that television networks and The Associated Press depend upon to deliver the story on Election Night, all with the pressure-filled backdrop of a tight presidential race. The consortium formed by ABC, […] Read more »
Political Polls: Influential, Imperfect and Everywhere
To the Editor: As a pollster, may I add one more thought to the very enjoyable Oct. 23 column by David Brooks, “Poll Addict Confesses”? I wince every time I read poll reports that use the phrase “margin of error.” [cont.] Humphrey Taylor, The Harris Poll (NYT) More from Humphrey […] Read more »
Take debate research with grain of salt
As a pollster, I am obviously a numbers junkie, so Monday night was a cornucopia. Moment-to-moment dial-testing by multiple focus groups, instant polls, prolonged parsing of the numbers. It was all good entertainment, but not very good research. [cont.] David Hill Read more »
Obama stays ahead – just
There are two versions of what has happened in the past three weeks in the battle to be US President. One is the version told by most nationwide polls and accepted by the media; the second, told by a minority of nationwide polls, including YouGov, and most polls in the […] Read more »