From CNN October 27, 2000:
Gallup: Bush 52% Gore 39%
CNN/Time: Bush 49% Gore 43%
ABC/Washington Post: Bush 48% Gore 45%
Zogby: Gore 45% Bush 43%
Actual vote: Gore 48.4% Bush 47.9%
2 thoughts on “Voters are as voters do”
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From CNN October 27, 2000:
Gallup: Bush 52% Gore 39%
CNN/Time: Bush 49% Gore 43%
ABC/Washington Post: Bush 48% Gore 45%
Zogby: Gore 45% Bush 43%
Actual vote: Gore 48.4% Bush 47.9%
Comments are closed.
That is exactly why I pay absolutely no attention to these advertisements known by most as polls.
A few weeks ago I had a pollster call and unfortunately for her I had had one too many pollsters call by then. The woman identified herself as a pollster for blah, blah, blah, insinuating that this poll was about consumer products, but of course she asked who I would vote for if the election were held today.
I said I wasn’t going to answer any political questions. She asked a few more inane questions about products and tried to get info from me to pigeonhole me demographically.
Eventually she asked again who I would vote for in the presidential campaign. I repeated that I wasn’t answering political questions.
I asked who she worked for and she repeated the company’s name and said they contracted polling work for others. So I asked who was footing the bill for this particular poll. She said she did not know.
I said judging from the questions it was probably Fox News. I said we were done.
In the future when a pollster calls me I won’t answer a single question until they tell me who is paying for the poll. Even then…..
Polls are used to manipulate voters and plan campaign strategy. They are looking for input to help craft sound bites palatable to the greatest number of voters, with little regard for the campaigner’s actual stand on issues.
I no longer feel compelled to aid in that process.