Political polls are an interesting tool to gain an understanding of what is important to likely voters and how people of varying demographics generally vote. Although no poll is perfect, there are ways to obtain results that are more reflective of likely voters.

Consider Automated Polling

Automated polling is the easiest method to gain survey information from respondents. One of the major benefits of automated polling is that it creates more consistency because there are not different interviewers doing the calling who can inadvertently bias results. Depending on the type of survey, an automated voice will read the questions and the respondent may use their keypad to answer questions or you might allow time for them to record open-ended questions. Since there are many hindrances to automated polling, you likely want to simultaneously have online surveys to reach the broadest number of people. Many people no longer answer calls from unknown numbers or may mostly use a mobile phone, which has a different number than the one they use as their primary contact.

Use Additional Methods For Random Samples

It may be difficult or impossible to have a truly random sample of people with political polls. The goal of random sampling is to gain information from people in a way that closely resembles the demographics of likely voters. There can be inherent biases in political polls simply because certain demographics are more likely to complete the questions. To counterbalance inherent sampling biases, the demographic information might be weighted before analysis so it is more reflective of likely voters. For example, if likely voters are 50% male, but survey respondents are overwhelmingly female, fewer male respondents might carry more weight in the final analysis. Using the same example, choosing a smaller, random sample of a specified number of males and females from the original sample could create a realistic representation of likely voters.

Hone-In On Specific Political Affiliations

If you are more interested in why voters are voting a specific way rather than who they are voting for, you likely want to target a narrow range of likely voters. An ideal demographic for obtaining this information is people who generally perceive themselves as moderates or slightly leaning toward one party or another, and may vote differently in each election based on the candidates or issues. This information is more useful because most people tend to vote for the same party in every election, regardless of the candidate or predominate issues. Moderates or "swing voters" can often give you insight into which issues are more important at each election and what helps or hurts a specific politician's campaign.

The results from political polls can help political figures at the local, state, and national level understand the needs of the people they represent. Contact a calling service, like Political Robo Calling, for more help.

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