Category Archives: Polling

Pollsters Never Answer the Interesting Questions

Posted on December 14, 2022 by mikethemadbiologist

Recently, YouGov conducted a poll about what kinds of development Americans support locally and nationally. The good news is sixty-five percent of Americans think their local community should have more apartment buildings. They then argue that politicians should be more … Continue reading →

Posted in Polling | 3 Comments

Masking Remains Popular

Posted on February 10, 2022 by mikethemadbiologist

I’ve been a long-time fan of using local conditions, such as COVID prevalence (how many people are currently infected), to determine when various restrictions and requirements should be removed or weakened, so I realize there won’t be a one-size fits … Continue reading →

Posted in COVID-19, Polling | 3 Comments

If You’re Calling for New Democratic Messages, Be Clear about What You Mean

Posted on October 14, 2021 by mikethemadbiologist

Last week, Ezra Klein had an interview with polling wunderkindt David Shor, whose political wisdom Klein distills to (boldface mine): All this comes down to a simple prescription: Democrats should do a lot of polling to figure out which of … Continue reading →

Posted in Democrats, Polling | 2 Comments

I Thank Nine Percent of Vaccinated Americans for Their Service

Posted on July 26, 2021 by mikethemadbiologist

Here’s a very intriguing finding in a recent YouGovAmerica poll–note the red squiggles I added: I hope this is a ‘protest answer’ and not a seriously-held belief, but, at this point, who the hell knows? Thank you for your sacrifice, … Continue reading →

Posted in COVID-19, Polling | 2 Comments

Faith in Polls Not Seen

Posted on February 24, 2020 by mikethemadbiologist

One of the weird things about the electability debate in the Democratic primary is that it seems utterly divorced from polling data. In particular, the argument is that Sanders can’t win, even though polls have him as competitive, if not … Continue reading →

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Most People Have No Idea What Basic Political Terms Mean

Posted on February 19, 2020 by mikethemadbiologist

I realize this probably isn’t news to anyone who teaches political science, but these two tables from a widely distributed NBC poll amuse me: If this is to be believed, twenty percent of Americans think Sanders is too conservative. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Democrats, Polling | 3 Comments

The Outlier Poll that Won’t Die

Posted on September 13, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

I know I’ve been beating this like a drum, but that damn April Emerson poll keeps rearing its godawful ugly ass head. For those who don’t know what I’m referring to (probably a mark in your favor), in April, Emerson … Continue reading →

Posted in Democrats, Fucking Morons, Polling | 2 Comments

How to Use Polling Data for Gaslighting Clickbait

Posted on May 30, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

Consider this part of our ongoing series in how not to use polling data. This head-explodey tweet came across the transom recently: For the third week in a row, The Economist/YouGov polling shows that the share of Democratic primary voters … Continue reading →

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Revisiting Misadventures in Interpreting Democratic Primary Polling Data (LIZLADS ARE THE WORST)

Posted on May 15, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

Since we’re discussing the Democratic primaries, I’ll began with my typical disclosure that, were I voting today, I would vote Warren. A month ago, Emerson Polling released a poll, which led to wailing and gnashing of teeth in certain quarters: … Continue reading →

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When Standard ‘Pundit Talks To Pals’ Behavior Is Gussied Up With Numbers

Posted on April 24, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

Et tu, 538? One of the long-standing problems in political punditry is when pundits consider the group of people they know, a group which is almost always completely unrepresentative of the phenomenon they’re discussed, as a representative sample. Seth Masket, … Continue reading →

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