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Weighting Polls on Party Affiliation and Past Vote

Pew Research Center · Scott Keeter and Courtney Kennedy · last updated

How a controversial practice has changed political polling in the U.S.

A growing share of election polls in the United States – almost 70% of national polls in 2024 – are now weighted on political party affiliation or reported vote choice in a previous election. This kind of political weighting is controversial. But evidence shows that it has made polls modestly more accurate.

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