Either side of the political spectrum could make an argument the polls covering the election are biased in their portrayal, but voters are unlikely to be swayed by these numbers and campaigns shouldn’t waste energy trying to find controversy.

Relying on polls to formulate an opinion is the wrong way to go about making an informed decision anyway, because it doesn’t reflect how an individual would stand on certain issues.

Poll numbers are determined through complicated calculations and always contain a margin of error, so there is a lack of certainty in the results.

Individuals conducting a poll survey a random sample representing a given population who will be voting. The margin of error determines how close the percentages determined in a poll differ from the actual population.

Polls covering the presidential election have shown marginal support for Barack Obama, prior to the first debate, and they were under fire for being biased.

Well-known conservative talking heads Rush Limbaugh and Republican strategist Karl Rove questioned polls showing the president with a strong lead over former governor Mitt Romney.

But the first presidential debate gave an unlikely edge to Romney, when many pundits assumed Obama would be victorious.

Those advocating the election for Romney had accused polls for being biased and favoring the president, but since the former governor has gained a four-point lead in the election, according to a poll by Pew Research Center, the liberals are making accusations of bias.

Usually, polls are attacked when the results they present do not agree with some people’s beliefs or desired results and this is completely invalid.

There are no facts behind the idea polls are biased and skewed to present certain candidates as having an advantage. These accusations are simply speculation.

Major pollsters are merely reflecting the opinions of the public they have surveyed and shouldn’t be accused of bias just because their results don’t settle well with some people.

Even in a case when the polls fail to question a group properly representing the public, this doesn’t make the poll biased; it just makes their results unreliable.

Conservatives and liberals both fear the impact polls will have on the coveted undecided voter, but it’s unlikely those individuals are going to make up their minds based on poll results.

People who avidly keep track of candidate performance through the polls have most likely already made up their mind on who to vote for. So campaigns shouldn’t be so quick to attack polls because of voter impact.

Polls are merely a tool for campaigns to strategize. Although they may influence an undecided moderate, poll results will never be the deciding factor in their vote.

Campaigns should focus on swaying voters through their policies, rather than marginalizing polls as inaccurate because doing so is only a distraction from real issues.

 

Samantha can be reached at: [email protected]