Thursday, June 24, 2021

Polling in 2020: Worst in 40 Years?

Headlines concerning polling after the 2020 elections were uniformly negative. Not surprising because much of the mainstream media depended on their and other national pollsters for headlines and stories, especially conclusions as to who was winning and why. The Wall Street Journal was especially unhappy with its final poll. It said Joe Biden would win by 11 points. Once all the votes were counted, he won by 4.5 percent. Fox News was so displeased with their pollster’s call of Arizona for Biden during the Election Night broadcast that they changed polling management and the team.

Dozens of reports on the results of what happened and why are now available. What is the consensus on mistakes in 2020 and are the new polls accurate within statistical limits? Will there be another polling miss in 2022 or 2024? Some adjustments have been made, but adjustments aside, pollsters – both private and media – are back in the field describing the New York mayor’s race, the 2022 midterm elections and a myriad of issues.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Denver (OLLI at DU) is hosting pollster and DU professor, Floyd Ciruli, for a conversation on what happened to polling in 2020 and its future. The OLLI at DU presentation will be held on June 29, 2021 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am MT. REGISTER HERE

For information and registration for OLLI at DU Summer Seminars 2021, click here

Want to become a member of OLLI at DU? Click here

Read blog: AAPOR dissects the 2020 polls

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