Voter Stereotypes

When a pollster creates a poll and provides the percentage of support of the voters with a margin of error, several questions can be raised related to the data. The information provided by the pollster, being limited, can create several different pictures. The desired information to make a more informed decision about the polls accuracy and relevance is tied to the sample population, the sample taken, and the method of polling.
The information provided in the poll is related to the poll percentage and the margin of error. The person reading the poll does not know where the poll numbers are derived from nor does the reader know the sample population.
If this is a political poll, the poll could be swayed by the political preferences of the pollsters. The pollster could easily sway the poll in any direction by selecting the sample size, the specifics related to the sample demographic, or the way that the sample is polled. For example, by considering the sample taken as the “likely voter” or the “registered voter,” the poll could be skewed in different directions. According to Panagopoulos and Farrer (2014), the number of likely voters tended to prefer the GOP candidate and the number of registered voters tended to be pro-Democratic. The poll could also be swayed by outside factors related to the political process. One of the factors related to the polictical process that could introduce bias is illustrated by Tull in his 1975 article. Tull (1975) illustrates that, when attempting to determine a campaign run by a candidate, the polls provided are, by design, biased intentionally in order to support the candidate’s ambitions to run for public office.
Polling methods
(2014). Polls and Elections Preelection Poll Accuracy and Bias in the 2012 General Elections. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 44(2), 352-363.
Tull, D. S. (1975). INTENTIONAL BIAS IN PUBLIC OPINION POLLS FOR DECISIONAL PURPOSES. Public Opinion Quarterly, 39(4),