Cell Phone Users finally heard from

[Mickey]

Most polls, apart from internet polls, are taken via phones but do not include people who do not have land lines and instead have only a cell phone. Cell phone users are left out of all this infernal polling. At least they were until now:

 

"As I have discussed repeatedly, normally people with a cell phone but no landline are not polled. Most of these are in the 18-29 year old group. Up until now, no one has known how their absence from the polling data might affect the results. Zogby has now conducted a very large (N = 6039) poll exclusively on cell phones using SMS messaging to get a feeling of how they will vote. The results are that they go strongly for Kerry, 55% to 40%, with a margin of error of only 1.2%. If they all vote tomorrow, the pollsters are going to spend the rest of the week wiping egg from their faces. But historically, younger voters have a miserable turnout record, so the pollsters need not yet stock up on paper towels." Electoral College thingy

 

If these voters actually show up at the polls and have the predicted effect, future politicians will have to pay a lot more attention to this demographic. That is not necessarily bad news for the country or either party. I think this group may very will pull the lefties back to the right a bit and the righties back to the left a bit. Most of the sources I have read puts this group more in the middle than one might have initially thought. For example, they have no use for the anti-gay stuff that is the bread butter of the far right but at the same time, they are more anti-tax than most groups. They are strong on the environment and defense issues. They also have no fierce party loyalties which makes them hard to predict. That factor also means that you can't take them for granted.

 

All big "ifs" I know but I had to get one more bit of speculation in before the board turns crazy with one side gloating and the other sobbing.

 

Good luck everyone and remember, no matter who wins, neither paradise nor apocalypse will result.

[blzrul]

Just remember you all have a connection in the business with access to these lists and demographics.