Some Thoughts on Polling

Did you know that pollsters and market researchers do not call cell phone numbers when conducting their studies? Check this out:

A phone / e-mail survey of 3,000 Michigan citizens found one of every four young people in the state report using their cell phones as their main phone, opting to decrease or eliminate their use of land-line connections. Commissioned by Ann Arbor nonprofit Cyberstate.org and conducted by Lansing-based polling firm Public Sector Consultants in April, the fifth annual report detailed a surge in wireless phones and wireless Internet connectivity.

The study showed 25 percent of respondents under the age of 25 only use a cell phone, while 21 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds rely solely on their cells. As a group, African Americans were three times as likely as whites to report their cell phone as their primary number, the study stated.

It was the first time the cell phone question was asked on the study since it was initiated in 1998. But Jeff Williams, vice president at Public Sector Consultants, said the cell phone numbers are likely a conservative estimate because pollsters by law may only contact traditional phone line users.

Let's assume, shall we, that when it comes to cell phone usage, folks in the great state of Michigan are representative of the rest of the nation. That means that political polls leave out a whole lotta young people. And if young people have high voter turn-out in key states come November, this election might look much different that what the current polls indicate.