re: #388 Justanotherhuman

Yes, but you’re assuming people answer honestly about their affiliation. I don’t have any delusions about that. Polls don’t check your registration.

But your point in #379 is well taken.

If a pollster is consistent on how they address the party ID, then you’ve got internal consistency and can compare one poll to the next from the same pollster. That’s what the good ones try to do. They’ll also adjust the percentage of those polled to match with what they see as a current makeup of the electorate.

All have little control over how people answer these party ID questions - and while sabotaging the outcomes in polls is a possibility, I don’t think enough people are doing it to make the polls unreliable in that regard. Over time, those polls will even out the potential saboteur (who claims one party ID but is another IRL).