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Pulling Back The Curtain On Political Polls

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The polling industry is seeking to regain public confidence after the 2016 election. Will the advent of live polling, like what's being done by The Upshot at The New York Times, rejuvenate enthusiasm or trust in poll results? What about the Political Atlas and its incorporation of opinions expressed on social media?

Mid-term elections can be particularly tricky. Gauging the pulse of the electorate to get a picture of the make-up of Congress after Election Day is a grueling, state-by-state endeavor. It's only made more difficult by the relatively scarce polling on some races.

And those recorded prompts may be annoying to hear when you pick up the phone. But there's evidence they can produce more accurate results than polls done by real people. It may be easier, it seems, to be honest when you're not speaking to a human being. But not always.

What polling methods work best? What's their limitations?

GUESTS:

Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.