Here's why you should worry about the polls for the 2016 US elections — and beyond

August 31, 2015

After reviewing various difficulties with real-world polling,Cliff Zukin (professor of public policy and political science at the School for Planning and Public Policy and at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University) concludes:

Those paying close attention to the 2016 election should exercise caution as they read the polls. . . . We are less sure how to conduct good survey research now than we were four years ago, and much less than eight years ago. . . . Polls and pollsters are going to be less reliable. We may not even know when we’re off base. What this means for 2016 is anybody’s guess.

The Washington Post, August 31

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