The midterm elections are just days away – so you’ve probably seen a lot of information about polls over the last few months. Capital Correspondent Cheyna Roth explains how to carefully evaluate polls.
First thing, you have to look closely at the poll.
Adrian Hemond is with Grassroots Midwest. That’s a bipartisan political consulting firm. He says you need to look at the sample size – the bigger the sample, the more accurate.
And another good indicator of accuracy is how well known the candidates are. When you have candidates people are familiar with, the polls tend to be more consistent and accurate. For example: Michigan’s major party candidates for governor.
“At this point, nobody is unclear about who Bill Schuette and Gretchen Whitmer are." Said Hemond. "And so those polls are going to tend to be a little more reliable.”
But there are some experts who say the most accurate polls are those done the weekend before the election.
