Is the Polling Industry Broken?

2020 was a tough year. And a global pandemic, a shuttered economy, and...
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2020 was a tough year. And a global pandemic, a shuttered economy, and the social justice movement made it a uniquely tough election year for opinion pollsters. Election night seemed like a repeat of 2016. The polls simply got it wrong. Again. The predictions of a “blue wave” never materialized. Pollsters had to admit there was something wrong with the models their industry has relied on for decades.

So why do the polls keep getting it wrong? The $19 billion opinion research business is now searching for answers. In this episode, we explore how the polling industry is rethinking how behavioral and demographic shifts are disrupting long-standing opinion research methods. Listen as John Horvick of DHM Research, Dave Metz of FM3 Research, and Stefan Hankin of Trendency Research share their perspectives on the forces changing the polling business – and how research firms are adapting to a real-time information world.