KERA Commentary: Accuracy in Hispanic Polling

By the year 2042, the Census Bureau tells us that over half of this nation?s population will consist of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians. As these ethnic segments become a larger part of our nation?s population, knowing what they believe and what they value will be increasingly important in guiding national policies and programs. The close competition in the current presidential race, for example, may very well be shaped by the political sentiments of potential swing voters like Hispanics.

Despite the changing demographics, however, many pollsters continue to use outdated methods to measure the public opinion of our nation?s diverse audiences, and sometimes provide misleading information to decision-makers who rely heavily on such polls. The traditional margin of error associated with a poll tells us how close the poll results are to the true population value, but it prov...
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Suggested Intro: You'll hear much in this election year about results of various polls, but while they can provide insight into society, commentator Edward Rincon warns there are reasons to be wary of some polls.

Suggested tag: Dr. Edward Rincon is President of the research firm, Rincon & Associates and an instructor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.