Hey Everybody ! QUIT FREAKING ON THESE POLLS !!!!

[DeadHead67]

We still have over six weeks till the election! Spend your time on the computer to organize and GET OUT THE VOTE!!!! Above all, don't pay ANY attention to polls by print OR electronic media. They are NEVER scientific! AGAIN! Let's get to work and GET OUT THE VOTE!!!:kick:

[Q3JR4]

1. Calm down dude, it's just a bit of fun. n/t

[Snow]

2. Well, actually, they are prettty doggone "scientific"

in that the surveyers know what they are doing. One thing most of them are doing is weighting the voters differently. I've heard one prominent poll, and I think it's Gallup, weights republicans 0.92 versus 0.76 for democrats. That's supposed to represent previous turnout to vote habits of those groups based on past presidential elections. That weighting results in *bush being further ahed. So, Nov 2, we need to GTVO!

[DeadHead67]

3. I'm not talking about Gallup. . . .

I'm talking about Time, Newsweek, Fox, MSNBC, etc., etc. ad nauseum. It's fairly obvious they are easily manipulated. Somebody on DU will post an alert and everybody goes to the link and votes: VOILA! The numbers change. I rest my case.

[Snow]

5. Are the online polls the ones that get published in the magazines?

If so, that's a pretty good case and you can indeed rest it.

[skinny_dwarf]

4. Don't worry about national polls

There is another reason not to worry about the national polls: they mean jack. Remember, due to the electoral college, whether or not the majority votes for you does not matter. What matters is that enough states with enough electoral votes vote for you. The only polls that matter are polls in battleground states. And we're still okay there.

[NinetySix]

6. They also don't include overseas absentees

The people conducting the polls call potential voters at their homes in the states they're polling. Overseas voters, a fairly significant voting block (in that they would certainly constitute enough to swing a very closely contested state), are by definition not 'at home.' Typically, non-military absentee voters outnumber military voters by roughly 8 to 1. This year, overseas voters are registering in droves. Care to guess who they're voting for/against?

Further, take a wild guess who military voters in Iraq and Afghanistan are going to support this year (HINT: if you were being shot at daily in the sweltering heat, who would you prefer?).

After coming to realize all this, I haven't placed nearly as much creedence in the national or state polls; there are literally MILLIONS of wildcards unaccounted for out there.

PS: already ordered my absentee ballot!

[newyawker99]

9. Hi skinny_dwarf!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[mvd]

7. I agree

Zobgy's still the only one I'm trusting. The others seem to be conspiring. I mean, MSNBC just had some stupid Quinnipiac University poll showing Bush only behind by single digits in NY! If I believed polls, I'd really be down.

[Xipe Totec]

8. 40% of All Statistics Are Made Up on the Spot

I think I read that somewhere...

or heard it...




or saw it in a dream...




or made it up...


can't remember now....






What was the question?



:shrug:

[Teaser]

10. Preaching to lemmings, my friend.

They're gonna run into the sea no matter what you sat to'em.

[LunaC]

11. The Ghost in THE POLLS

THE POLLS always question "registered" or "likely" voters but there's a whole subset that isn't being considered in the equation.........the droves of people scurrying to GET registered and aren't yet included in the statistics. A DU member recently commented that new voter registrations are skyrocketing and judging by the extreme anger at Bush* policies in the general population, I'm going to speculate that the larger percentage are Dems.

That The Polls show Bush* with a lead may work out to our advantage as it may inspire the usually apathetic public to get off their asses and vote!

[featherman]

12. I really don't get this "everybody freaking out over polls"

Who is freaking out over polls. Can't say I have noticed. Most of the posts I read here on DU about polls and polling methods are thoughtful, informative, and keeping things in perspective. Maybe you are confusing the "freak out" with an underlying anger at how the media are presenting the polls to the public.

[troubleinwinter]

13. "Lies, damn lies and statistics"

Only November 2nd matters.

Requests to "DU this poll!" for online polls drive me especiaslly nuts. I guess some folks like it, but it seems silly to me.