How much do you rely on political polls?

CPT Jack Durish — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 13:12:23 -0400

Statistical analysis is essential to many areas of human endeavor and study. No sport has benefited more from statistics than baseball. Quality assurance programs cannot operate, cannot improve and maintain the production of reliable products and services without proper application of statistical arts and sciences. Sadly, political polls have been used to influence voting rather than predict voting. Their failure in recent decades causes me to wonder if anyone actually pays attention to them anymore. Then I see the many recent postings on RP inspired by stories about pollsters and poll results and it seems they still do. Do you?

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jul 15 at 2016 1:18 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 13:18:11 -0400

I don't rely on political polls CPT Jack Durish at all. As a trained ORSA I learned years ago about survey design and sampling techniques. Most political polls are biased either intentionally or sometimes unintentionally.

Response by Sgt Tom Cunnally made Jul 15 at 2016 1:20 PM

Sgt Tom Cunnally — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 13:20:03 -0400

Bernie Sanders: " I don't give a damn about the Polls"

Response by LTC Thomas Tennant made Jul 15 at 2016 1:20 PM

LTC Thomas Tennant — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 13:20:16 -0400

Ha Ha Ha ... you have got to be kidding me. At this point of the political process I put very little stock in political polls. Any publicly announced poll is conducted to drive a narrative. It is great for the talk shows and so called media news sources in that it gives them something to talk about and debate. They are a distraction and frankly I would rather talk about substantive issues

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2016 1:48 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 13:48:59 -0400

Never.

Response by Alan K. made Jul 15 at 2016 2:11 PM

Alan K. — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 14:11:15 -0400

Zero......

Response by Sgt Kelli Mays made Jul 15 at 2016 2:25 PM

Sgt Kelli Mays — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 14:25:50 -0400

I don't pay attention to polls.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2016 2:26 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 14:26:34 -0400

They're an interesting read but otherwise no.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2016 2:42 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 14:42:52 -0400

To me polls are not truly representative of the voting population. It depends on how the question was asked, who they are surveying and the total amount surveyed over a period of time. The only true poll is on election day and the people that turn out. I ran for office in 2008 and followed the polls that had me up by two percentage points and I lost by 47 votes and that's why I'm not as trusting of the polling that is conducted.

Response by SSG Carlos Madden made Jul 15 at 2016 2:44 PM

SSG Carlos Madden — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 14:44:53 -0400

I worked on some polling. It can be a great indicator and tool if conducted correctly. Some poling is better than others.

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Jul 15 at 2016 2:53 PM

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 14:53:00 -0400

Zero, zip, nada! Biggest joke in the political world that usually reflect the ideology of the group conducting the poll, not reality.

Response by SPC Kirk Gilles made Jul 15 at 2016 3:07 PM

SPC Kirk Gilles — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 15:07:19 -0400

Tommy Boy : "I can take a dump in a box and make it Guaranteed!"
Polls are designed to achieve a desired outcome by the pollsters.

Response by Capt Chris McVeigh made Jul 15 at 2016 4:48 PM

Capt Chris McVeigh — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 16:48:38 -0400

You can make a political poll will tell you whatever you want it to based on how you conduct it. Scientific data and research is only as good as the method that is used to gather it. So no, I pretty much ignore all political polls.

Response by CPO Frank Coluccio made Jul 15 at 2016 6:33 PM

CPO Frank Coluccio — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 18:33:58 -0400

Since I learned that in order for the poll to be considered "scientific" the sampling number has to be 800 or greater, not one bit.
I'll look at polls, but just to see the demographics of the poll.

Response by TSgt J.L. Brown Jr made Jul 15 at 2016 9:08 PM

TSgt J.L. Brown Jr — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 21:08:10 -0400

i dont follow them, we the people will vote, the count will show who wins

Response by TSgt Joe C. made Jul 15 at 2016 11:41 PM

TSgt Joe C. — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 23:41:51 -0400

I do not rely on them at all.