The Pew Research Center published an article Tuesday regarding the effects of cell phones on polling. What they attempted to address is the ongoing concern about “whether public opinion polls that do not include cell phones are accurately measuring the relative levels of support for the two candidates.”
The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press has conducted three major election surveys with both cell phone and landline samples since the conclusion of the primaries. In each of the surveys, there were only small, and not statistically significant, differences between presidential horserace estimates based on the combined interviews and estimates based on the landline surveys only. Yet a virtually identical pattern is seen across all three surveys: In each case, including cell phone interviews resulted in slightly more support for Obama and slightly less for McCain, a consistent difference of two-to-three points in the margin.
Two-to-three points could easily be the difference in this election. Pew has said that it will include cell phone users in its remaining polls. It would be nice if the rest of the pollsters would do the same.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
What’s very interesting is also the fact that it’s primarily the younger crowd that doesn’t have land lines. When you consider that younger voters are expected to turnout in record numbers this year and that they tend to support Obama, I think we could be in for a big surprise.
FWIW, Gallup and a few others have already incorporated “cell phone only” folks into their models and they are reflected in their tracking polls.
Great, just what we need, more unwanted calls at inappropriate times, and they are no longer restricted to the home.
Seeing how often polling does not accurately reflect elections (trending maybe, but not who would win), I would hope that there would be a reduction, not an increase, in polling.
These polls should be getting an accurate reflection of the cross demographic of the electorate which obviously includes the younger voters more inclined to use predominantly a cell phone.
But I think the greater question is these polls in the first place. I think if news agencies are going to report these polls they should be required to offer up a form of disclosure to viewers regarding the actual make up of the respondents themselves.
It baffles me how the same people who slam CNU latest poll have nothing to say about the ridiculous poll by Post/ABC news that gives Obama a 9% lead. If you look at those polled some 58% aligned themselves with the Democratic Party and on 28% Republicans. The number of “registered” voters to “likely voters” was astounding. So the age, sex, and party affiliation disportionately favors Obama and yet McCain still pulls down 43% given only 28% of the respondents were Republican; does any one else find that just a little interesting?
Given NBC has it 2%, Rasmussen about the same and PPP 3% or so, ABC got some real expalining to do if they want us to view them as legitimate.
Face it this race is close and ahell of alot closer than 9 points.
The say polling is a science, yeah “funny” science.