Automated Polling Comes Out on Top-so says politico

[babylonsister]

and they give a h/t to rasmussen. :eyes:

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/08/25/automated_polling_comes_out_on_top.html

Automated Polling Comes Out on Top

"While not on the ballot, another group of often-maligned politicos also won big on Tuesday: automated pollsters, whose numbers in Florida correctly predicted that Scott would overcome state Attorney General Bill McCollum to claim the GOP nomination," according to Politico.

"The more traditional pollsters, who used the more expensive and trusted method of live telephone interviews to conduct their surveys, rejected the notion that their numbers this week had been flawed -- and offered data to back them up... Still, if there was any doubt that newer, less traditional pollsters are here to stay, Tuesday's elections virtually removed it... For PPP, and a host of other automated pollsters including the ubiquitous Scott Rasmussen, offering those top-line numbers -- and offering them in spades -- has offered a clear path to influence and commercial success."

[FBaggins]

1. That was the indication after 2008 as well.

A couple of them were right at the top of Nate Silver's accuracy list.

Note that this doesn't mean that Rasmussen isn't biased. If you, for instance, report a five point gap over and over and over and then allow it to close to one point on the eve of the election (where the real gap is one point), it might just mean that you cleaned up your act for the final report (after it's too late to influence people).