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President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney
By Anjeanette Damon (contact) 
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 | 2 a.m.
Take one look at the screwy results from three public polls in the presidential race in Nevada this week and one might wonder why anyone bothers conducting horse race surveys in the Silver State at all.
The three released Monday showed three dramatically different results in the tight race between President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney in the battleground that is Nevada. The results in the neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race between Republican Dean Heller and Democrat Shelley Berkley weren’t any better.
Depending on which survey you look at, Obama and Romney are tied, or Obama has a 9-point lead. In the Senate race, either Berkley is screaming along with a 4-point lead or Heller has it wrapped up with a 5-point advantage.
The wild results are reminiscent of a slew of public polls in the U.S. Senate race from two years ago — surveys that consistently indicated Republican Sharron Angle would trounce Sen. Harry Reid on Election Day. Of course, the opposite happened.
Part of the problem with the different results among the polls released by the Nevada Retail Association, Public Policy Polling and the American Research Group is simply statistics. Polls have margins of error that can swing the results as much as 8 or 9 points.
But Nevada is also a quirky place to try to get an accurate survey. Here’s a look at five variables that make the Silver State so difficult to gauge.
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The margin of error plays an outsized role when it’s a close race
First, a quick statistics lesson.
Polls are simply an estimate of where the electorate is at a single moment in time. Because polls are an estimate, there is natural error. Most public polls have about a 4-point margin of error. That means 95 percent of the time, any single poll will return a result that is within an 8-point range of the true picture.
This is particularly important to understand in a race as tight as the presidential and U.S. Senate races are in Nevada. So, when a poll comes back, as the Retailers’ did with Obama and Romney each at 46 percent, they could be as far away as Obama with 50 percent and Romney at 42 percent or vice versa.
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Figuring out who will actually vote: not such an easy task
Putting the margin of error aside, a poll won’t be worth much if the sample doesn’t reflect who will actually be voting in the general election. Putting together a sample that reflects the electorate is just as much art as it is science.
Not only does a pollster have to put together a sample of voters that breaks correctly along partisan lines but one that also reflects the same gender, age and racial make-up of the electorate.
But the challenge doesn’t stop just at demographics. Pollsters have to find the actual voters who will cast a ballot.
That can take some digging. Instead of simply asking the person who answers the phone whether they plan to vote — the answer is almost invariably yes — pollsters can have better results by calling those with a demonstrated history of voting.
That digging is expensive. Public polls are usually not expensive.
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Nevada voters are notoriously difficult to get ahold of
This, again, is a variable that adds to the expense of a good poll — actually reaching those voters who have been identified as those who will turn up in November.
As veteran pollster Mark Mellman — the only one to correctly gauge the Reid-Angle race — told the Las Vegas Sun two years ago, it can take up to six or seven phone calls to reach voters. If the effort isn’t made, a pollster is simply surveying people who answer their phones on the first ring — hardly a representative sample.
And in Nevada, home to a sizable population of shift workers, voters aren’t necessarily home during the most popular poll-calling hours of 5-9 p.m.
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Nevada is a pretty diverse place
As one political operative interviewed for this story said, it’s easier to poll a racially and socio-economically homogenous population — say a big square state in the middle of the country — than it is one with strong ethnic diversity.
Nevada is about 27 percent Hispanic, 9 percent black and 8 percent Asian. The electorate doesn’t necessarily break down according to the same proportions. In 2010, for example, Hispanics made up 16 percent of those who turned out to the polls — a number higher than many anticipated due to Democrats’ extensive turnout efforts among that population.
Pollsters also can run into language barriers with Hispanic and Asian voters.
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Nevada is a pretty independent place
Nonpartisan voters make up about 17 percent of registered voters. In fact, nonpartisans are registering at a faster clip than Republicans, despite the party’s expensive voter registration effort. In 2010, those who identified themselves as “independent” made up 32 percent of the voting electorate, according to exit polls.
That comparison — 17 percent of registered voters vs. 32 percent of actual voters — shows that many voters actually think of themselves as independent, even though they are registered as either Republican or Democrat.
A pollster who bases his sample on respondents who “self-identify” as independent — a common trend as disgust with the parties intensifies — will likely have a skewed sample.
Reid v Rassmussian had it leads Angle, everyone else had toss up but a PPP had it leans Reid. Pundits like Larry Sabado and Dick Morriss were wrong
Romney is behind so Repubs are trashing polls now. Obama will win taking FL OH VA PA WI IA CO and NV
Then there are people like in my household who won't play the poll game.
Enjoyed the article, Ms. Damon.
I think it shows clearly that the power of the vote is indeed very strong. So strong it is unpredictable.
The power of "the silent majority" is indeed powerful.
Another thing this points at is that people are actually looking at the issues, what candidates are standing for, how they think, are they for Nevada or against it. If you ask me, I lean to the left, but this DEFINITELY works against any and all Tea/Republican Party efforts. Because they do not want you taking this serious. They just will tell you anything to get you to vote for their candidates. And as a reminder, here in Nevada, look at the lies they will tell you to get voted into office. Prime examples are Heck, Heller and Sandoval, to name a few. Heck and Heller run on jobs, jobs, jobs and the economy, then they get into office and attack women and name Federal buildings...that's it.
One thing not accounted for in your article, and it might be hinted at by the populace is hard to get ahold of to participate in polls, is the simple fact that a lot of people have cell phones. Traditionally, a lot of cell phone people are not called.
As for me, I don't get involved in polls. My job is to drive the pollsters absolutely crazy. Because as a voter, it is the only power I wield in elections. And I want politicians to work for my vote. I can't be bought by stupid Karl Rove attack ads with no clear solutions. Nor can I be influenced by miscellaneous junk. And I darn sure don't listen to what a politician tells me. I check to see if it's true with independent sources. Nor can pundits influence me. I cannot and will not be "Hannitized" or "Coulterpunkt" into voting against my best interests.
I just hope Nevada does the same when they vote. That includes driving the people who take polls crazy and have them continually scratching their heads.
I think Romney will make excellent vice president to Obama and Obama Mormon faith shouldn't be a factor. Obama supporters are so shmart they know dern well it those rich people don't pay nuff.
Along with the telemarketer calls, I received 3, if not more, political-marketer calls each day. (Polls, recorded political ads, funding, etc.) My telephone is no longer my own. Apparently, I must be paying for these a$$ h01e$ to harass me at their pleasure, and at my inconvenience. My answering machine is burning up. For my end I have the ringer turned off. Then once a day a simple delete, delete, delete, delete, delete, delete, delete, delete, delete, delete, handles it. Hopefully, I will not miss any emergency calls or important family, friend or work calls with my system. In other words, calls which are important to me and are intended for my land line. It was bad enough the year of the LV Mayor's race, but this election year is freakin' ridiculous.
I've actually RECEIVED very few calls this season. Those were when I misread the number displayed on my caller ID. Note that I don't class as "received by me" the vast number of calls I delete before listening. I have no idea who those are from. They might (just possibly) be from people trying to sell me a shoelace-ironing or hanky-folding service contract. For the one pollster who got thru to me early in the season, I took a page from the politicians book - I LIED!
To avoid the polling calls, the political robo calls, and 90% of unwanted sales calls- LEAVE YOUR PHONE NUMBER OFF YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION. It is NOT required.
Call your county clerk right now and get the form to eliminate it and live happily, er...peacefully ever after.
You're welcome.
I, too, usually do not answer the phone after 5PM. If, for whatever reason, I do and it's a pollster, I tell him or her I am not interested and hang up. The TV networks and newspapers are nuttier than fruitcakes when it comes to paying homage to useless, meaningless and biased polls. They do not mean a thing. The only poll that counts will be held on November 6.
lol - What is this about land lines and people giving out their phone number when it is not necessary?
Silly kids.
President Obama 2012!
GOTV!
I just got off the phone from Moscow, Putin will use Russia's intelligence network to obtain Romney's tax returns. they will be released it in 2 weeks and show that Rome took a tax amnesty from the IRS for a illegal Swiss account.
You talk to the average working person,union and non union. Most are disgusted with the lack of leadership by Obama. No budget and a lack of leadership in all aspects of his time in the White House. No future for our children or grandchildren since the man knows nothing about good tax policy. I do not care what the polls say. If you talk to many people they will tell you that Obama let them down with his empty promises.I will vote for Romney this time.
for 702: I'm betting your Mama can explain it to you. Time to come out of the basement and experience the rest of the world, lil 702.