One pollster’s explanation for why the polls got it wrong

Re:One pollster’s explanation for why the polls got it wrong by PeterisP on Tuesday November 10, 2020 @05:01PM (#25052610)

As far as I understand, the traditional sense of "shy voter" is to describe your poll numbers (i.e. the people who did take the survey) which answered "undecided" when they were shy about their choice. This also goes hand in hand with things like observed differences in answers of in-person surveys when the person doing the survey is/isn't from the same demographic as the person being surveyed.

A disproportional amount of people (after controlling for race/gender/income/education/etc) simply refusing to answer the survey has similar but conceptually different effect; one that (as the OP claims - perhaps they're mistaken) is new and had not been a significant factor before.

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Re:One pollster’s explanation for why the polls got it wrong by AnimalMuppet on Tuesday November 10, 2020 @05:45PM (#25053099)

If I didn't have five of them calling me every day, day after day, I might be more likely to answer.

If half of them weren't push polls trying to disguise themselves as unbiased, I might be more likely to answer.

As it is, though? No. Go away. All of you go away. You'll find out my opinion when I vote. Until then, leave me alone.

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Re:One pollster’s explanation for why the polls got it wrong by ineedasername on Tuesday November 10, 2020 @10:18PM (#25055146)

Those of us who don't live in a swing state don't have to deal with them nearly as much.

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Re:One pollster’s explanation for why the polls got it wrong by AnimalMuppet on Tuesday November 10, 2020 @10:50PM (#25055334)

I wish. I don't live in a swing state. (Though I guess I do live in a hotly-contested congressional district. In fact, it still hasn't been called.)

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