The most important benefit of online polls is that they prove ...

[TruthIsAll]

knowledgable, informed, motivated opinion is overwhelmingly against the Bush Neocon Cabal's unilateral warmongering and profiteering.

Just compare the online CNN and Newsweek polls to the corresponding scientific public opinion polls. The difference is staggering.

The classic belief that an informed electorate is necessary for a free, democratic society has been proven over and over again by the CNN and Newsweek polls.

The fact is, serious people get their information on the Net. They search for clues, google for information and are open-minded enough to make judgements based on the information which BushCo and the Repuke press wants to hide from them.

Right after 9/11 we wondered who the heroes would be to come and stop the Bush cabal. Insiders like O'Neil, Wilson and Clark. Politicians like Dean and Kucinich. Military like Wes Clark. Ex-CIA like Ray McGovern. Diplomats like John Kiesling. FBI like Rowley. Intel like Kwiatowsky. DU BBV researchers like Bev Harris. Writers like Kevin Phillips, John Dean, Joe Conason, Mollie Ivins, Michael Moore and Greg Palast.

The good news is that every day, more voters are coming online. And they will learn to seek the truth very quickly as soon as they start lurking at places like DU, Buzzflash, Democrats.com, etc.

This trend can only mean that anti-Bush sentiment will continue to grow steadily through November. At some point, we will reach a critical mass of voters, if we have not already.

[On the Road]

1. It Also Shows Where the Energy is

Dems are the ones clicking on polls, poring over internet sites, posting on boards, donating money, and so forth. Republicans must hate to even turn the news on.

As such, it's an indicator of turnout in November. Dems will be energized to turn out; Republicans will be conflicted and will stay home in greater numbers. The pollsters are thus understating Kerry's lead.

[mtnester]

2. Or (no flaming please, this is just a fact)

That you can vote, exit the page, clear out your cache with your firewall software, and come back to vote again and again and again.

THAT is how a poll gets freeped. Does not take an army to do.

Online polls are worth about nothing due to that simple fact, unfortunately (wish it were not true)

[gristy]

6. I thought on-line polls know the IP address of those who voted,

and this prevents people from voting multiple times.

[On the Road]

7. Yes, But Not All Polls are Freeped

An individual poll is unreliable, but a consistent trend across many is more revealing. It's also not like freeping is completely undetectable, especially when it's promoted on a board -- to a certain extent, it's public.

[Muddleoftheroad]

8. Online polls are entirely unscientific

And prove nothing. There are lots of ways to fool them and even unfooled, they still have a huge bias.

[slackmaster]

3. They prove that people who feel strongly about issues vote in online polls

Not much else.

[TruthIsAll]

4. They feel strongly because they are knowledgeable and the truth hurts.

We need to get more people online.

[LeahMira]

5. I disagree...

Just compare the online CNN and Newsweek polls to the corresponding scientific public opinion polls. The difference is staggering.

Exactly! The people who vote on online polls are a self-selected group. As you say, they are more involved in political issues, take these concerns more seriously, and so more likely to vote in these polls.

OTOH, think about all the millions of people who go online daily compared to the tens of thousands of voters online in the various polls.

The scientific public opinion polls select their respondents from a far larger and more diverse sample of the population. They also tend to ask questions that are designed not to elicit any particular answer. Statistically, they really are more accurate.

Conclusion: Never, ever depend only on the internet for sending or receiving information. TV is still the information king for most folks. Sad, enit?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

9. Right, but will the "informed internet voters" like us, VOTE more than

the TV watching lumpenproletariat? HMMM?