Gallup Quits Presidential Primary Horse Race Polling, Will Continue Issue-Based Polls

[BarryDonegan]

http://truthinmedia.com/gallup-quits-primary-horse-race-polling/

As experts begin to raise questions about the accuracy and effectiveness of presidential horse race polling, top pollster Gallup has, in a historic shift, reportedly decided not to conduct them for the 2016 presidential primary season and will instead focus on questions about voters' opinions on the issues.

 

[TheNewYorker]

Good news! Now if only all of the other polling firms would follow suit.

 

[r3volution 3.0]

interesting..

The New York Times notes that Newport told a gathering of reporters and pollsters in June of 2013 that “there is something going on in the industry, and Gallup was at the bottom of that [in 2012],” referring to the changing nature of polling as voters shift from using land lines to smartphones and web technology at varying rates across different demographics.

I.E. Landline polls are inaccurate, so inaccurate that Pew fears being embarrassed, so they're going to stop doing them.

Though Gallup is reportedly beginning to experiment with internet and smartphone-based polling, questions remain about the effectiveness of such methods. Consequently, Newport said that for this election cycle the focus will be on “understanding where the public stands on the issues of the day, how they are reacting to the proposals put forth by the candidates, what it is they want the candidates to do, and what messages or images of the candidates are seeping into the public’s consciousness.”

But these too are landline polls, and therefore inaccurate, so why keep doing these?

...unlike horse-race polls, opinion polls cannot be proved inaccurate, so no risk of embarrassment for Gallup.

 

[TheTexan]

This just in, 87% of respondents feel that Honey Boo Boo should be put back on the air.

 

[MarcusI]

Well, still the access to the next debate on CNBC will be determined by polls. Lets hope and do all we can to get Rand in there.

Latest poll was California, Rand on 5%. Quite good compared to other recently done polls.
http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2514.pdf

 

[juvanya]

I am pretty sure, having worked on polls, that most pollsters now include cell phones. It would be extremely foolish not to.

Now, a problem arises for people like me who dont have a landline or a cell phone. I use VOIP.