Is Internet or Telephone political polling best?

Dec 1
08:04

2008

Scott Perreault

Scott Perreault

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Is the Internet or the Telephone the best way to conduct a political poll?

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Shifting from telephone polling to Internet polling is a lively topic of debate at the moment. Whatever the method,Is Internet or Telephone political polling best? Articles all campaigns understand that a poll takes the guess work out of the planning process and maximizes the use of campaign resources. Because either type of poll requires a minimum number of responses to achieve an error factor (+/- 4%), there are few differences in how the data is obtained. Within four years, both Internet and telephone methods will be acceptable. Therefore, the goal of a credible political consultant is to employ the method that obtains the fastest and most accurate responses for your specific location.

I recommend telephone polling for two types of clients: those who need an immediate snapshot of the current situation and those who reside in smaller districts. I do this because telephone surveys can be accomplished in less than a week and because an Internet survey cannot be statistically accurate with so few emails available.

Documented Scott Political Polling success story...

In March of 2006 there were many issues in play in the Texas U.S. Senatorial race: Iraq, taxes, education, government waste, crime and gasoline prices were reaching record levels. It would have been easy to make assumptions as to which issues were the most important. The campaign could simply rank order and decide what issues to emphasize.

However after conducting a Scott Political Internet poll, the results surprised our research team. The message Texas voters were sending in this survey did not match the media news reporting or the common assumptions. The campaign was confident in our methodology and framed the issues around the survey results. It was the correct decision.

On election evening in Houston, the exit polls listed in rank order the five most important issues. They were ranked identical to Scott Political's research results conducted months earlier. Texas U.S. Senatorial Candidate Barbara Ann Radnofsky exclaimed, "You must feel good after seeing the exit polls. Your research was right on!" If we learned anything from this research experience, it is that reality is not always what we perceive.

In over twenty years of working with Presidential, Federal, State and local political campaigns the one observation rings consistently true. The campaigns that win use passion to implement the plan based on facts. The campaigns that lose create a plan based on passion and do not search for the evidence.  Plan. Implement the plan. Win!