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by Emily_Byrd from WGHP Weather

Last Post 9 days, 19 hours Ago


Do you care about polls?
May 2, 2008 | 6:29 AM
Category: Political
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I know it's not a new way of gathering information, but this election cycle seems to have brought poll after poll to news outlets.  We can see how voters of every race, gender, creed and economic level are voting.  We can even speculate on what people think about one candidate's chances against another.

My question to you, the voter and the viewer is, does any of that matter to you?

My personal theory is that polling reflects more than the bare statistics that are passed along.  They also reflect what the media is presenting and how the people in the media are doing their jobs. 

I suspect that polls don't have a great deal of influence over voters other than to let them know if their preference is in the majority or the minority on a certain day.  More than anything, I hear voters explaining their choice in candidate by pointing to policy, values and ideas -- not the polls.

So... do polls matter to you?  How do you use them (if you do)?  Do they influence your decision about who will get your vote?

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Member Comments Total Comments: 17
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Burlington_Rocker read my blog view my photos
May 2, 2008 | 7:30 AM

The polls have proven to be flat out wrong even more so this year than others. Beginning all the way back with Iowa when Obama won by 8 points when it was projected that Clinton would win by 10. Then, the debacle in California, with Clinton winning by 9 points after she was projected to win by over 20. I personally pay absolutely no attention to polling data, especially this year when they have just been dead wrong. Even the exit polling that is conducted AFTER the voters are coming out of the voting arena have been very inaccurate. Since I voted early no poll results or advertising on TV and radio mean anything to me. Just my 2 cents.
HankHill read my blog
May 2, 2008 | 12:21 PM

E Byrd
I also early voted. Knew who I liked and did what I planned. Polls did not matter to me. As B Rocker said they are not always right. Opinion polls are like the weather. Van has a better chance of hitting 10 for 10 on his 3 degree.
mayberryman
May 2, 2008 | 12:39 PM

I'm with Hank--I voted early yesterday. And I have a mistrust of exit polls myself. I think a "secret ballot" should be just that, and I don't tell anyone whom I vote for. That, and I have something of a sarcastic streak. At one polling station I was asked; I felt the sarcasm monster rear his ugly head, and told the pollster that I had written in Kermit the Frog. And I can't help but think there are others like me. So, given the misinformation factor, I think Hank is right--Van has a much better chance of nailing the 3 degree guarantee.
Tiggersmommy read my blog view my photos
May 2, 2008 | 1:41 PM

I never listen to the polls. In all the time that I have been voting, with all the polls that have been and are being done... I have never been polled. No one I know has even been polled. My grandfather, who was a WWII vet that died at the age of 89 and never missed an election, had never been polled. How can they claim to have a knowledge of the general population's thoughts and ideas if they don't ask people of all races, creeds, economic and geographic backgrounds these questions.
homeschoolmom read my blog view my photos
May 2, 2008 | 3:26 PM

I don't think they are very accurate either. I don't pay them any attention. My daughter and I researched and decided on the candidates and printed out a sample ballet so we knew what order they would be in. I wrote the names down in order and we used it at the polls. We just went right down the list. It made it much easier for her too since it was her first time voting.
Tiggersmommy read my blog view my photos
May 2, 2008 | 7:08 PM

homeschoolmom.... what a great idea! Mind if I borrow it? ;) We (my family) have been doing a unit study on the branches of government and the electoral process in US History... this would be a great way to bring it down to a hands on activity and so much easier than another trip to Washington with gas prices like they are (yikes). Also good for some of us adults (meaning me, *blush*) to help pin down a candidate.
homeschoolmom read my blog view my photos
May 2, 2008 | 8:08 PM

I don't mind at all. After you print off the ballot, you can google most of the people to find their websites (they don't all have one, but it is pretty easy to find information about them.) We are going to Washington DC for my daughter's graduation trip. She is a big history person. I don't even want to think what it is going to cost in gas.
homeschoolmom read my blog view my photos
May 2, 2008 | 8:10 PM

Mayberryman, I agree about the secret ballot comment. I don't like when people ask me who I voted for either.
Axekick read my blog view my photos
May 2, 2008 | 9:27 PM

I would be willing to bet I could tell 75% of those who blog here how they voted. I like tracking polls Emily they can show more than many think I don't vote according to the polls. Numbers are great and depending on how and what you measure you can nearly always get the results you want!
Alan_H read my blog view my photos
May 2, 2008 | 10:05 PM

Since Super Tuesday, presidential polls have been accurate in predicting trends, which is what I'm looking for as a voter and journalist. Polls only reflect a particular moment in time and have a short shelf life. They are a small part of the information available to voters. I believe polls don't have the impact they once did because we have access to more information than ever before.
homeschoolmom read my blog view my photos
May 3, 2008 | 8:39 AM

Alan H, you make a good point. I guess that is why I never think they are very accurate, because by the time the poll gets around, it changes.
poteatlee read my blog
May 3, 2008 | 9:26 AM

Emily, my family and I early voted as well. We knew who we liked and voted for them. as for polls they tend to be flat out wrong which has already been stated.Polls Like everything in life if you're the one conducting it then you can make it represent what ever you want it to.
DW45 read my blog view my photos
May 3, 2008 | 11:52 PM

Why would the Polls affect the way anyone would vote?

Anyway, my answer to your question is simply "No"...
Axekick read my blog view my photos
May 4, 2008 | 7:04 AM

I find the poll on this website interesting it shows Clinton has close the gap on the lead Obama once held in this state, I listen to Carl Rove Friday night and he said that Clinton would win Indiana but would lose North Carolina because of the number of college students in the state I'm not so sure she will lose. The polls are showing this will be a close one lets see how right or wrong the polls are. I feel who ever wins the state it will be by single digits.
DW45 read my blog view my photos
May 4, 2008 | 11:38 AM

Yeah, I guess a close contest might inspire some to get out and VOTE for "their guy", when otherwise they might not make the effort...

Read last night that Hillary came out ahead last round, but only by 6 or 8 points, as opposed to the expected 22?...Gonna go right down to the wire, you're right about that!
caddyboy read my blog view my photos
May 5, 2008 | 8:39 AM

No I don't care about the exit poll.
HankHill read my blog
May 5, 2008 | 2:37 PM

I am glad to see people voting. If the polls are one of the reasons, then good. We all take much for granted. Certainly our right to vote is at the top of the list
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Emily_Byrd

I love the weather. I love animals. I think that "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" "Bones" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" ROCK. As music goes: Yo-Yo Ma, Daughtry, Allyson Krauss (and Union Station), Black Eyed Peas, most any John Williams soundtrack (especially Memoirs of a Geisha and Harry Potter), Wagner, Handel, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, and I could go on and on.

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