Study says cell phones affecting polling « New Mexico Independent

By Matthew Reichbach 10/14/10 7:39 AM

The amount of cell phone-only households is affecting the polls in electoral contests, a study released by the Pew Research Center suggests.

“In three of four election polls conducted since the spring of this year, estimates from the landline samples alone produced slightly more support for Republican candidates and less support for Democratic candidates, resulting in differences of four to six points in the margin,” Pew reported. “One poll showed no difference between the landline and combined samples.”

Pew says that the effect is even more pronounced when it looked at likely voters.

In that case, the poll without cell phones showed that 50 percent supported a generic Republican candidate while 43 percent supported a generic Democratic candidate. The same poll including cell phones is 47 percent to 44 percent in support of the Democrat.

This suggest that polling firms who do not include cell phone-only households could be understating support for a Democratic candidate.

Auto-dial pollsters like Rasmussen Reports, SurveyUSA and Public Policy Polling use this technology to keep down costs. This is why these pollsters poll more often than those who use live phone calls.

Study says cell phones affecting polling « New Mexico Independent