Beware the phantom swings: why dramatic bounces in the polls aren’t always what they seem

… Over the past three weeks, our election model and polling for The Economist has shown a consistent lead for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump of three to five percent. In contrast, some other polls have shown wide swings. … We believe that most of the bounces seen in surveys this […] Read more »

Averaging your way to reality

Just how likely is it that the polls will be right? Notice first, I said, polls, plural, with an “s.” There is no particular reason any one poll should be “right” — except ours, of course. That’s what the statistical margin of error is all about. CONT. Mark Mellman (Mellman […] Read more »