We’re posting this early in the morning before today’s “day before the primary” Q-poll comes out, and just asking whether it’s a good thing for the process to have a poll released the day before August 10th. We don’t recall The Polling Institute issuing a similar 11th hour poll in past elections.
These numbers will dominate today’s news coverage and overshadow any “last looks” at the candidates and the issues. We just had a Quinnipiac poll eight days ago.
Just asking.
Election Day: Nov. 7, 2006
QU Poll: November 6, 2006 – Lieberman Has 12-Point Lead In Connecticut, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds
“Incumbent Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman holds a 50 – 38 percent likely voter lead over Democratic candidate Ned Lamont, with 8 percent for Republican Alan Schlesinger, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Five percent are undecided.”
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1296.xml?ReleaseID=980
FYI-Doug Schwartz told us this morning that “last day” poll is a regular Q-poll procedure, done in most of their polling. The reason winds up being pretty self-protective. Polls are often called into question by candidates, especially when they don’t do well. So releasing a poll as late as possible supposedly indicates polling institute’s “due diligence” in trying to be as up to date and accurate as possible in their findings.
I wish they wouldn’t release polls the day before. I think it could influence certain voters. Also, the Q polls have always been way off. I wish more people in the media would report the accuracy of certain pollsters (ie Quinnipiac, not very reliable). Every network is reporting the numbers like gospel. When in fact Q’s track record is horrible. Actual results will be interesting to compare to final numbers.
[…] that polls don’t really matter leading up to primary. And nobody, including the oft-cited (and oft-criticized) Quinnipiac poll predicted the kind of landslide victory enjoyed by Dan Malloy. But, these polls […]