

Two Polls That Highlight the Challenges of Polling - mjwhansen
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/15/upshot/two-polls-that-highlight-the-challenges-of-polling.html?abt=0002&abg=1&_r=0

======
Brushfire
I was really surprised they didn't discuss, or even mention, the primary issue
of direct polling like this that seems top of mind to me: that no one I know
wants to sit through a poll.

Aren't these just polls of the segment that is willing to suffer through the
call? Doesn't that naturally make them more polar in nature, because all the
pragmatic folks are busy with real life to care?

~~~
forgotpasswd3x
Additionally, some people like myself don't really mind spending a couple
minutes to answer questions, however I don't feel that any of the polls that
I've received are actually legitimate.

Most seem to be political ads in disguise, where the questions are _very_
leading, to the point of being comical. "Do you support Barack Obama's view's
to immigration, which may allow potentially dangerous illegal aliens to stay
indefinitely in America, and TAKE YOUR JOB!?"

I live in a pretty conservative area, and it seems like these polls are just
trying to make sure all the old people get riled up to go vote.

~~~
mikeyouse
Yeah, the formal term for it is "Push Polling". [1]

The most famous example is probably from George W. Bush's primary campaign
against John McCain (who had previously adopted a Bengali girl). I'll quote
from Wikipedia:

> Voters in South Carolina reportedly were asked "Would you be more likely or
> less likely to vote for John McCain for president if you knew he had
> fathered an illegitimate black child?"

[1] -
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push_poll](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push_poll)

------
porterhaney
The large problem, that's becoming larger, is that a good portion of a
representative audience no longer has land line phones, and refuses to answer
phones in general. This type of polling is becoming less and less valuable
over time, and will need to be transitioned to digital polling in the near
future.

~~~
mjevans
I refuse to participate in these wastes of my time (I have far more
entertaining things to waste my time with).

I do, however, make every effort to exercise my right to vote so that I earn
the privilege of 'complaining' about results I dislike (what I voted for
didn't win, what I voted for sold us out, the thing I wanted to vote for
wasn't an option because of gerrymandering (which is what any form of
distracting is)).

