Questions arise about how the poll was conducted, especially when results show as they do for a larger sampling of respondents who support an increase in the minimum wage than those who do not.
Support the minimum wage 59% to oppose minimum wage 34%
http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=12591
Also, the way the second statement B is worded is actually reflective of a "paper trail," a "paper receipt," much like the receipt from an ATM machine, a "paper record" and not reflective of a "paper ballot" on which the voter marks selections and which is either hand-counted or then fed into an electronic optical-scan machine to be read and tabulated.
What is even more puzzling is the wording of the analysis and portrayal of the results in this line:
85% supported the requirement of paper ballots-- 73% supporting Electronic voting with paper records and 12% supporting paper ballots or lever machines only.
Even in its own analysis - 73% supporting electronic voting with paper records - is use of proper term paper "records." Yet the
85% supported the requirement of paper ballotsis used! Go figure.
The third statement should have been split into two questions. Respondents should have been asked separate questions about a desire for a paper ballot and a desire for use of "old, reliable lever machines."
Should we split the approximately 12% result into 6% and 6%? Do we know whether 10% preferred the "old, reliable lever machines" and 2% preferred the paper ballot? Or any combinations we might suggest.
The results to Statement C are thus useless going to the question of voters' preferrences for paper ballots. Yet, the results to Statement C are included with the results for Statement B and generalized into the misleading 85% supported the requirement of paper ballots
The results for Statement B are not reflective of "paper ballots," as maintained by including the results in the statement 85% supported the requirement of paper ballots
The more accurate portrayal of results would be 73% supported a paper receipt/record of their ballot cast on an electronic voting machine.
Factor-in the revelation the poll
OpEdNews.Com/ Zogby People's Poll
The OpEdNews.com / Zogby People's Poll is the first poll run by a progressive organization and possibly the first poll run by a media website, certainly by a progressive media website.
Zogby International conducted interviews of 850 likely Pennsylvania voters online on January 26th and 27th. The poll consisted of 22 questions related to the PA race for US Senate and a total of over 70 questions, including 27 issue-related questions on impeachment, Bush’s NSA spying and hearings, electronic voting, war in Iraq, withdrawal from Iraq, nationalized health care, privatization of voter registration and election technology and more....
...We believe it is the first full poll commissioned by a progressive website (Bob Fertik and David Swanson of impeachPAC, afterdowningstreet and democrats.com get credit for piggybacking polling questions on impeachment onto existing polls first and we understand the mydd.com also ran a poll that is being released today too. .)
Some boilerplate we want to be clear about. One of the reasons we went with Zogby was because we wanted to get real information, not just another internet poll. We wanted to see the stats when a professional, non-partisan pollster did the polling and helped in the design of the questions, so they would not be skewed to set up answers. The Zogby company’s position is that Zogby is a public opinion research company, not a progressive nor a conservative pollster. They do not advocate. They do work for clients who hire them, regardless of their political persuasion, and they provide the clients with objective data that may or may not benefit their cause. A Zogby spokesman made it clear to me, “We do not skew results to fit the desires of our clients. “ And that’s what OpEdNews wants. The truth.
Poll Methodology: Zogby International conducted interviews of 850 likely voters online. Panelists who have agreed to participate in Zogby polls online were invited to participate in the survey. The online poll ran from 1/26/06 through 1/27/06. The margin of error is +/- 3.8 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. Slight weights were added to party, age, race, religion, and gender to more accurately reflect the population.
(1/27/2006)
- by Rob Kall, opednews.com
http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=12591
Also see:
January 26, 2006 Tomorrow-- The OpEdNews/Zogby Poll Asks Questions Progressives Want answers to by Rob Kall
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_060126_tomorrow___the_opedn.htm
The Poll
The HAVA-required switch to new voting technology is a hot issue nationwide. In PA, 11.6 of respondents supported electronic only voting and record keeping. 85% supported the requirement of paper ballots-- 73% supporting Electronic voting with paper records and 12% supporting paper ballots or lever machines only.
Here is how we phrased the question:
Following are three statements about electronic voting. Please tell me which statement comes closest to your point of view – A, B, or C?
Statement A: Electronic voting is efficient and trustworthy. It will make voting easier, count ballots quicker, and avoid the problems associated with counting paper ballots.
Statement B: Electronic voting is okay only if there is a paper trail, much like ATM machines which provide you with a printed receipt. That way voters can verify that their vote is recorded correctly and there is no risk of the electronic records being lost, hacked or manipulated with no verifiable record.
Statement C: There should be no electronic voting. We should only use voting machines which use paper ballots or old, reliable lever machines.
1. A 11.6%
2. B 73%
3.C 11.6
4. None/other 1.3
5. Not sure 2.5
67% supported government ownership of voting technology and software as opposed to 21% supporting ownership by private corporations.
80% support government ownership and maintenance of voter records and determination of voter eligibility, compared to 13% supporting allowing privately held corporations to perform such "outsourced" work.
On election reform, 66% supported giving candidates a fixed amount of money, to prevent influence buying compared to 27% that supported allowing them to raise as much money as they want from individuals, industry, and corporations.
Support the minimum wage 59% to oppose minimum wage 34%
http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=12591
Unfortunately, some picked up on the misleading statement 85% supported the requirement of paper ballots
Opinion Polls - 1/06 Zogby 85% wanted paper
http://www.votetrustusa.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=363
Another site portrays the findings
VotePA entitles page Op-Ed / Zogby Poll: PENNSYLVANIANS WANT VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER!
with subtitle But Diebold Dangles Deep Discounts to Grab HAVA Contracts in Keystone State By Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA
January 30 -- By overwhelming majority, Pennsylvania voters want the security and accuracy of a voter-verified paper record or ballot, according to the most recent OpEdNews.com / Zogby People's Poll.
http://www.votepa.us/newsarchive/1-30-06PAwantsPaper.html
Coalition for Voting Integrity quotes the statement as published on OpEdnews site
Zogby Poll commissioned by OpEdNews.com, Jan. 27, 2006: “In PA, 11.6 of respondents supported electronic only voting and record keeping. 85% supported the requirement of paper ballots--73% supporting electronic voting with paper records and 12% supporting paper ballots or lever machines only.”
http://mysite.verizon.net/resq4lzq/cvi/index.html
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