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Americans Trust but Don't Listen to Political Polls, Says New FindLaw.com Survey
Friday, May 16, 2008
EAGAN, Minn., May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Four out of 10 American adults say
they pay little or no attention to the political opinion polls that tell them
which presidential candidate is the most popular, and more than eight in 10
say polls do not influence their vote. As the Nov. 4 election day draws
closer, Americans are bombarded with media results on a daily basis from
opinion polls that purport to show how the candidates are faring within their
party, upcoming primary or caucus states, or the national electorate.
How much attention do Americans pay to the results of political polls? Do
they trust the accuracy of the polls? And do the poll results influence how
they vote? A new national survey conducted by FindLaw.com, the most-visited
legal information Web site, sheds some new light on what Americans think about
political opinion polls. FindLaw is a Thomson Reuters business.
-- Four out of 10 American adults say they pay little or no attention to
political opinion polls. While 26 percent say they pay a lot of
attention or extremely close attention to poll results, 33 percent say
they pay only some attention, and the largest group -- 40 percent --
says they pay little or no attention to the polls. The survey also
showed that female, older and more educated people tend to pay closer
attention to political polls.
-- When asked about the accuracy of the polls, only 11 percent of
Americans feel the surveys are either extremely accurate or very
accurate. Fifty-seven percent believe they are somewhat accurate, 20
percent feel they are not very accurate, and 10 percent say they are
not accurate at all.
-- Eighty-three percent of Americans say the results of political opinion
polls have little or no influence on how they vote. Overall, younger
Americans with lower levels of income and education were more than
twice as likely to say that political polls have at least some
influence in how they vote.
-- Those who consider themselves Democratic or leaning Democratic are
more likely to pay attention to political polls than those who
consider themselves Independent or Republican or leaning Republican.
They also are more likely to say that political polls have at least
some influence in how they vote. These results may be due, at least in
part, to the closely contested fight for the Democratic presidential
nomination.
Overall, the FindLaw.com survey results indicate that while most Americans
generally believe that political polls are at least a somewhat accurate
measure of the views of the electorate, a large percentage of Americans do not
pay attention to the results of political polls and the vast majority of
Americans say the polls have little or no influence on how they vote.
Listen to a podcast discussing the results of the survey at
http://west.thomson.com/podcasts/archive.aspx
The survey was conducted during the first week of May using a telephone
survey of a group of 1,000 randomly selected, demographically balanced
American adults. Survey results are accurate plus-or-minus three percentage
points.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Full survey results are available upon request.
About FindLaw
FindLaw, a business within Thomson Reuters, is the legal industry's most
effective provider of online marketing and client development services.
FindLaw provides law firms with Web sites and other online marketing services
that generate new business with qualified prospects and build stronger, more
profitable relationships with existing clients. Attorneys can also be
prominently listed on our Web portal, FindLaw.com, the world's most-visited
legal information site. To schedule an appointment with a FindLaw online
marketing consultant, call 1-866-44FINDLAW (1-866-443-4635) or e-mail
west.info-findlaw@thomson.com. Visit http://www.lawyermarketing.com for more
information about the importance of law firm marketing.
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information
for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with
innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision
makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare and
media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. With
headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota,
Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people in 93 countries. Thomson
Reuters shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange; Toronto Stock
Exchange; London Stock Exchange; and Nasdaq. For more information, go to
http://www.thomsonreuters.com.
SOURCE FindLaw.com
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