EDITORIAL: Opinion poll perils and the need for transparency
Research is not peer reviewed, nor is it particularly upfront about methodology or assumptions
08 May 2024 - 05:00
Polling companies always say polls aren’t predictions. But that doesn’t prevent the voting public treating them as if they are — and sometimes acting accordingly. They may just be sample surveys, and flawed ones at that, but election polls have power. They can influence election outcomes.
That is why we need to demand a great deal more transparency and accountability from election pollsters than has been the case until now. We also need a more vigilant voting public, and a more vigilant media, willing to interrogate the results that the pollsters put out, and to understand their limitations...
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