Behind the Scenes of Political Polling

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-- answer me about some important since this is a poll in the making employees at this Northern Virginia polling center will be here for hours on this night.

Calling folks nationwide to see what they think about GOP presidential candidates and the economy.

Super surprise -- the in the interview how many people -- well one of -- -- more opinions.

Scott Peter is the director of survey research at the Pew Research Center.

The nonprofit nonpartisan organization behind this tonight's poll one of many his organization will conduct this campaign season.

Presidential years or -- -- -- big deal for pollsters.

As the calendar rolls over into this presidential year we're going to hear see and read the results of calls like these and dozens if not hundreds of polls.

And it turns out Americans have a series of questions themselves about how polls like these are conduct.

One commonly asked question how come I've never been called.

Pollsters say the fact is we live in a very big country.

There're 220.

Or thirty million adults in the United States are typical survey will interview 15100.

Even over the course of the year -- chance that we would call any given individual.

Is only about one in a 150000.

Another often asked question clocking -- -- hasn't -- represent the -- -- -- -- but pollsters say random dialing works in the same -- a spoonful of -- tells you what the whole bold taste like we don't need to talk to every American and every individual.

And asked their view to find out.

You know to get a good read on the -- -- nation still there are a lot of doubters when it comes to polls.

Photograph that is.

At the end of the day -- a mean a whole lot but Dana Blanton director of public opinion research of Fox News argues polls are interesting because they do -- -- at a specific moment in time.

That's what people felt and that those -- the views at that time.

Pollsters they remember you can also read their questions to hold them accountable.

You can probably spot.

If it's an honest question you can tell something's loaded and once presidential votes are tallied you'll know for sure just how good -- job they did.

We haven't gotten one wrong yet Blanton says what's most important though is that Americans are getting a chance not just to hear what others think it.

But to speak up themselves.

It also gives people a chance to be heard and that's.

An important part of the process in Washington Jennifer Davis Fox News.

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Behind the Scenes of Political Polling

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