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Mashable

Mashable

How to know whether you can trust a poll

Mashable
Summary
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89% Informative

Not all polls are created equal, however, and election experts caution that some are more impartial than others.

Pollsters vary wildly in their level of outreach and how much they adhere to industry norms regarding data accuracy.

A poll consumer should be able to clearly see how the data were collected, when it was administered, how many people are in the sample, and demographics.

Many pollsters have also started utilizing mail to reach respondents, according to the New York Times .

The new methodology is a way to counter the low response rates of randomly calling potential voters.

The Cook Political Report features a national polling average on its website, culling the latest data from a range of respected and diverse pollsters.