Why do middle eastern people get lumped into the "white" category when asked to declare their ethnicity? [more inside]
posted by tumbleweedjack on Jan 23, 2009 - 16 answers

Why does a political candidate's lead in opinion polls tend to shrink as the election approaches? [more inside]
posted by mcstayinskool on Oct 14, 2008 - 7 answers

Why is Obama advertising in Oklahoma? [more inside]
posted by gregoryc on Oct 12, 2008 - 33 answers

What does 'win percentage', as displayed on polling site fivethirtyeight.com, mean, and how is it calculated?
posted by PTCHFRKR on Sep 26, 2008 - 4 answers

How accurate are political polls in the age of the cell phone? Here's why I ask: Out of nine folks in my office, seven of us have no landlines in our homes; we are mobile exclusive. Of the those seven, six are voting Obama and one is voting McCain. The two of us with landlines are split one to one for Obama-McCain. Any pollsters working in our neck of the woods would see the race in a dead heat, one to one. In reality, we're seven to two. So, aren't the polls growing more skewed with every passing year? Do some pollsters actually call cell-phone users? If not, there's a bias.
posted by jackypaper on Sep 8, 2008 - 10 answers

Hi, I'm working on a project for a poli sci class and was looking for some helpful articles about public opinion polls, town hall meetings, press conferences, etc. [more inside]
posted by Raichle on Jul 23, 2008 - 5 answers

Help me understand the appeal of Rudy Giuliani as a presidential candidate. (U.S. electoral politics-filter) [more inside]
posted by killdevil on Apr 26, 2007 - 22 answers

Know of any good non-hosted free or open-source polling applications? [more inside]
posted by grrarrgh00 on Jan 30, 2007 - 1 answer

WebPoll Filter: I need a cheap (or free) online poll service that can collect at least 1000 responses and prevent revoting (using cookies or IPs, it doesn't have to be highly secure). [more inside]
posted by fourcheesemac on Mar 18, 2006 - 3 answers

LDAPFilter: I'm writing an application that stores its configuration in an LDAP server. I'd like to have it poll the server and reload itself when the configuration changes. What's the best way to do this? [more inside]
posted by sbutler on Jun 9, 2005 - 4 answers

I'd like to set up a simple poll (3 choices + show results) on a web site I maintain. I would like to host it on our server and pleasantly integrate it into the site (i.e. customisable css would be good). I've looked into some free poll scripts and reviewed the read me files but am dealing with things I know nothing about. Thoughts? Assistance [+]? [more inside]
posted by Dick Paris on Dec 7, 2004 - 7 answers

Does anybody know of any expansive polling of Canadians with respect to their feelings on foreign military intervention, particularily in Afghanistan? Of course, the more detailed the better. If that's too specific, can anyone point me to general repositories of Canadian polling data that allow free access (if such places exist)? Thanks as always! [more inside]
posted by loquax on Dec 5, 2004 - 2 answers

Every day, we are"treated" to new poll numbers showing Kerry and Bush at various percentages (Bush is leading, and seems to be widening that lead, according to most, except on that Wacky electoral-vote.com thing, but whatever...)

What I don't understand is how these percentages correlate with (or do they describe?) Electoral Votes. Does anyone understand how these correlate/connect? Can someone explain?
posted by ParisParamus on Oct 19, 2004 - 29 answers

How do precincts determine where their polling places are going to be located? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by eilatan on Feb 3, 2004 - 10 answers