{"id":21692,"date":"2024-10-03T16:03:47","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T23:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=21692"},"modified":"2024-10-04T12:04:47","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T19:04:47","slug":"political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/","title":{"rendered":"Political polls face significant challenges, but they still hold value"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Voters await their turn at the ballot booth as one person submits a ballot\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Despite their challenges, election polls still prove vital to the democratic process. (Image source: iStock.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=politics\">Politics<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Political polls face significant challenges, but they still hold value<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A USC Dornsife political scientist explains the basics behind polling and why their numbers sometimes don\u2019t match the final voting results.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Darrin S. Joy<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">October 3, 2024<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 1.058837 1.0874543 2.51831502 1.6884158 4.03502747 1.6884158 1.44087681 0 2.80427251-.5423678 3.86936601-1.5289606l.1656615-.1594552 2.2321428-2.2321428-1.6311813-1.6311813-2.2321429 2.26076c-.6581959.658196-1.5167124 1.0016026-2.43246332 1.0016026s-1.7742674-.3434066-2.43246337-1.0016026c-.65819597-.6581959-1.00160257-1.5167124-1.00160257-2.4324633 0-.8547009.2991453-1.6595442.87416905-2.2981957l.12743352-.1342677 2.23214286-2.2321429zm6.88661855-.40736607-5.26116068 5.26116075 1.61881868 1.6188186 5.2611607-5.2611607zm1.3837569-5.54501488c-1.4408768 0-2.8042725.54236779-3.869366 1.52896062l-.1656615.15945513-2.23214282 2.23214286 1.63118132 1.63118132 2.2321429-2.23214286c.6581959-.65819597 1.5167124-1.00160256 2.4324633-1.00160256s1.7742674.34340659 2.4324634 1.00160256 1.0016026 1.51671246 1.0016026 2.43246337c0 .85470089-.2991453 1.65954419-.8741691 2.29819559l-.1274335.1342678-2.2321429 2.2321428 1.5739469 1.5739469 2.2321429-2.2321428c1.0874542-1.058837 1.6884157-2.5183151 1.6884157-4.03502751 0-1.51671245-.6009615-2.94757326-1.6884157-4.03502747-1.058837-1.08745421-2.518315-1.68841575-4.0350275-1.68841575z\" transform=\"translate(-3 -3)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Copy Link<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#facebook\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Facebook\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_facebook\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m23.9512 6h-16.9024c-.57923625 0-1.0488.46956375-1.0488 1.0488v16.9024c0 .5792362.46956375 1.0488 1.0488 1.0488h9.10024v-7.34768h-2.46772v-2.87584h2.46772v-2.11508c0-2.45404 1.49872-3.79012 3.68828-3.79012.7389668-.00263323 1.4775241.03516995 2.21236.11324v2.56348h-1.51392c-1.18788 0-1.4174.56544-1.4174 1.39612v1.8316h2.84772l-.37088 2.87584h-2.47684v7.34844h4.83284c.5792362 0 1.0488-.4695638 1.0488-1.0488v-16.9024c0-.57923625-.4695638-1.0488-1.0488-1.0488z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -6)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Facebook<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_twitter\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#twitter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"X\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_twitter\">\n              <svg version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\"\n\t y=\"0px\" viewBox=\"0 0 30 30\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 30 30\" xml:space=\"preserve\" width=\"19\" height=\"19\">\n<path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M14.5,16.2l-0.8-1.1l-6.3-9h2.7l5.1,7.3l0.8,1.1\n\tl6.6,9.4h-2.7L14.5,16.2L14.5,16.2z M16.9,13.4l7.4-8.7h-1.8l-6.5,7.5L11,4.8H5l7.8,11.4L5,25.2h1.8l6.8-7.9l5.5,7.9h6L16.9,13.4\n\tL16.9,13.4z\"\/>\n<\/svg>\n\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">X<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#linkedin\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Linkedin\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_linkedin\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m25 21.4220779c0 1.974026-1.6038961 3.5779221-3.5779221 3.5779221h-11.84415582c-1.97402598 0-3.57792208-1.6038961-3.57792208-3.5779221v-11.84415582c0-1.97402598 1.6038961-3.57792208 3.57792208-3.57792208h11.84415582c1.974026 0 3.5779221 1.6038961 3.5779221 3.57792208zm-14.5584416-12.21428569c-.98701295 0-1.60389606.61688311-1.60389606 1.48051949-.12337663.8636364.49350649 1.4805195 1.48051946 1.4805195.987013 0 1.6038961-.6168831 1.6038961-1.4805195 0-.86363638-.6168831-1.48051949-1.4805195-1.48051949zm1.3571429 12.70779219v-8.6363636h-2.83766234v8.6363636zm10.2402597 0v-4.9350649c0-2.5909091-1.3571428-3.8246753-3.3311688-3.8246753-1.4805195 0-2.0974026.8636363-2.4675325 1.4805194v-1.2337662h-2.8376623v8.6363636h2.8376623v-4.9350649c0-.2467532 0-.4935065.1233767-.7402597.1233766-.4935065.6168831-.987013 1.4805194-.987013.987013 0 1.4805195.7402597 1.4805195 1.974026v4.564935z\" transform=\"translate(-6 -6)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">LinkedIn<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_bluesky\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#bluesky\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Bluesky\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_bluesky\">\n              <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\">\n                <path fill=\"#00000\" d=\"M12 10.8c-1.087-2.114-4.046-6.053-6.798-7.995C2.566.944 1.561 1.266.902 1.565C.139 1.908 0 3.08 0 3.768c0 .69.378 5.65.624 6.479c.815 2.736 3.713 3.66 6.383 3.364c.136-.02.275-.039.415-.056c-.138.022-.276.04-.415.056c-3.912.58-7.387 2.005-2.83 7.078c5.013 5.19 6.87-1.113 7.823-4.308c.953 3.195 2.05 9.271 7.733 4.308c4.267-4.308 1.172-6.498-2.74-7.078a8.741 8.741 0 0 1-.415-.056c.14.017.279.036.415.056c2.67.297 5.568-.628 6.383-3.364c.246-.828.624-5.79.624-6.478c0-.69-.139-1.861-.902-2.206c-.659-.298-1.664-.62-4.3 1.24C16.046 4.748 13.087 8.687 12 10.8\"  fill-rule=\"evenodd\" \/>\n              <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Bluesky<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_email\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#email\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"E-mail\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_print\">\n              <svg height=\"12\" viewBox=\"0 0 18 12\" width=\"18\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Should Americans take any interest in political polls?<\/p>\n<p>High-profile <a href=\"https:\/\/fivethirtyeight.com\/features\/what-pollsters-have-changed-since-2016-and-what-still-worries-them-about-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">failures to predict<\/a> election outcomes in recent years have given citizens pause when it comes to heeding poll results \u2014 but polling expert <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/christian-grose\/\">Christian Grose<\/a> says the numbers still deserve attention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPolling is really important from an electoral perspective for a campaign or even for voters,\u201d he says, because campaigns make strategic decisions based on polling, and voters might decide to get involved if the election is close.<\/p>\n<p>As professor of <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/poir\/\">political science and international relations<\/a> and public policy at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Grose recently collaborated on the California Elections and Policy Polls. The joint effort between USC, Cal Poly Pomona and California State University, Long Beach, aimed to gauge outcomes among California races for <a href=\"https:\/\/today.usc.edu\/california-house-poll-democrats-hold-slim-leads-in-states-closest-races-2\/\">key congressional seats<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/today.usc.edu\/poll-katie-porter-the-early-frontrunner-for-california-governor\/\">for governor<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Grose acknowledges political polls like these face a number of challenges, including getting enough people to participate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe biggest challenge right now is getting high enough response,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to get people to take surveys,\u201d and response rates to poll participation requests have dropped precipitously, from 25% to 3% or less, he says.<\/p>\n<p>Further, pollsters also want to be sure participants represent those who will actually vote during the election. \u201cIt\u2019s sometimes really challenging to know exactly who\u2019s going to turn out to vote,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n<p>Further complicating matters, different groups are often disproportionately represented in polls due to differing interest in participating. For example, voters of color are less likely to participate in a political poll than white voters. The same is true for younger voters versus older.<\/p>\n<p>Grose says these challenges can be addressed in a number of ways. To get enough participation, pollsters send invitations to far more people than they need. \u201cFor a survey of a thousand people, you often have to ask 10,000, sometimes 100,000 people to take your survey,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Incentives can also help. \u201cI do that in some of my own work, incentivizing people by giving them small payments or a chance to enter a lottery if they take the survey,\u201d Grose says.<\/p>\n<p>To ensure groups with lower turnout for polls are properly accounted for, pollsters can \u201cweight\u201d responses from participants in those groups more than participants who turn out in higher numbers. \u201cThat\u2019s relatively easy to solve, \u2026 and you end up getting an accurate count,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother solution is to rely on what is called a panel, where voters who are representative of the broader public take the survey and changes can be tracked within that representative group of survey takers,\u201d he added. (The <a href=\"https:\/\/uasdata.usc.edu\/index.php\">Understanding America Study<\/a> administered by USC Dornsife\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cesr\/\">Center for Economic and Social Research<\/a> is an example of such a panel.)<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Can You Trust Polls? Challenges of Polling, Explained\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vkJfe82zla0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Grose says that the public\u2019s waning trust in polls may also be due to a lack of understanding of how to interpret the poll results. He points to the margin of error as particularly confounding for some. \u201cUnderstanding the concept of margin of error \u2014 understanding uncertainty around the numbers that come out of a poll \u2014 is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For example, if a candidate is ahead in a poll by two points, but the margin of error is five points, then in effect the candidates are tied.<\/p>\n<p>Grose also cautions people against focusing on only those polls they like. \u201cDon\u2019t just cherry pick one poll that happens to find a result for the candidate you prefer.\u201d It\u2019s better to look at a variety of polls to see if they are trending in any direction.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Grose says that even a poll that turns out wrong in the end wasn\u2019t necessarily in error when it was published, nor was it rigged, as some have claimed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a snapshot in time. So, like right now, when the poll is being conducted, and if it\u2019s been done using scientific practices and appropriate methodological practices, that\u2019s what the result is,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>But people can change their minds later, or events can sway opinions after the poll, he adds. \u201cA good poll is only accurate the day it is taken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/giqbYRVn5v4\" \n         target=\"_blank\"                 class=\"\" \n      >\u2018Trojan Talks\u2019: USC President Beong-Soo Kim talks with Assal Habibi<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/today.usc.edu\/top-k-12-students-to-compete-in-science-olympiad-at-usc\/\" \n         target=\"_blank\"                 class=\"\" \n      >Top K-12 students to compete in Science Olympiad at USC<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/myanmar-earthquake-reveals-clues-about-future-quake-risk\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >What a devastating earthquake revealed about future quake risk<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A USC Dornsife political scientist explains the basics behind polling and why their numbers sometimes don\u2019t match the final voting results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":21693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[120,108,594],"class_list":["post-21692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-elections","tag-political-science","tag-polls"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Political polls face significant challenges, but they still hold value<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A USC Dornsife political scientist explains polling basics and why their numbers sometimes don\u2019t jibe with the final voting results\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Political polls face challenges, which can be mitigated\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A USC Dornsife political scientist explains polling basics and why their numbers sometimes don\u2019t jibe with the final voting results\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"USC Dornsife News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-03T23:03:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-04T19:04:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1150\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darrin Joy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darrin Joy\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/851085523b73581e3387a7fc90cadb96\"},\"headline\":\"Political polls face significant challenges, but they still hold value\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-03T23:03:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-04T19:04:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/\"},\"wordCount\":10,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"elections\",\"political science\",\"polls\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/\",\"name\":\"Political polls face challenges, which can be mitigated\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-03T23:03:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-04T19:04:47+00:00\",\"description\":\"A USC Dornsife political scientist explains polling basics and why their numbers sometimes don\u2019t jibe with the final voting results\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1150,\"caption\":\"Voters await their turn at the ballot booth as one person submits a ballot.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Political polls face significant challenges, but they still hold value\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/\",\"name\":\"USC Dornsife News\",\"description\":\"USC Dornsife news and events\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"USC Dornsife News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":330,\"caption\":\"USC Dornsife News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/uscdornsife\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uscdornsife\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/USCCollege\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/uscdornsife\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/851085523b73581e3387a7fc90cadb96\",\"name\":\"Darrin Joy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6146fe42c51c04a279975fc6b76b6dd8e0953f02c4c058e244e6f3e9220652b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6146fe42c51c04a279975fc6b76b6dd8e0953f02c4c058e244e6f3e9220652b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Darrin Joy\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/author\/darrinjo\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Political polls face significant challenges, but they still hold value","description":"A USC Dornsife political scientist explains polling basics and why their numbers sometimes don\u2019t jibe with the final voting results","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Political polls face challenges, which can be mitigated","og_description":"A USC Dornsife political scientist explains polling basics and why their numbers sometimes don\u2019t jibe with the final voting results","og_url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/","og_site_name":"USC Dornsife News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife","article_published_time":"2024-10-03T23:03:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-04T19:04:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1150,"url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Darrin Joy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uscdornsife","twitter_site":"@uscdornsife","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/"},"author":{"name":"Darrin Joy","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/851085523b73581e3387a7fc90cadb96"},"headline":"Political polls face significant challenges, but they still hold value","datePublished":"2024-10-03T23:03:47+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-04T19:04:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/"},"wordCount":10,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top.jpg","keywords":["elections","political science","polls"],"articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/","name":"Political polls face challenges, which can be mitigated","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top.jpg","datePublished":"2024-10-03T23:03:47+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-04T19:04:47+00:00","description":"A USC Dornsife political scientist explains polling basics and why their numbers sometimes don\u2019t jibe with the final voting results","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/Polling_Top.jpg","width":2000,"height":1150,"caption":"Voters await their turn at the ballot booth as one person submits a ballot."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/political-polls-face-challenges-still-hold-value\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Political polls face significant challenges, but they still hold value"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/","name":"USC Dornsife News","description":"USC Dornsife news and events","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization","name":"USC Dornsife News","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg","width":1000,"height":330,"caption":"USC Dornsife News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife","https:\/\/x.com\/uscdornsife","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uscdornsife\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/USCCollege","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/uscdornsife"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/851085523b73581e3387a7fc90cadb96","name":"Darrin Joy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6146fe42c51c04a279975fc6b76b6dd8e0953f02c4c058e244e6f3e9220652b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6146fe42c51c04a279975fc6b76b6dd8e0953f02c4c058e244e6f3e9220652b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Darrin Joy"},"url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/author\/darrinjo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21692"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21751,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21692\/revisions\/21751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}