What are the daily Electoral College vote tallies from biased sources?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the perceived biases of two websites that tally Electoral College votes, with participants exploring the implications of these biases on the reported results. The scope includes analysis of political bias, media representation, and the reliability of polling data.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that one website has a Democratic bias while the other has a Republican bias, though they do not specify which is which.
  • Others argue that both websites report similar results, questioning the validity of labeling either as biased.
  • A participant points out that the authors of the websites openly declare their political affiliations, which they believe indicates a level of bias.
  • Another participant contends that being transparent about bias can actually enhance objectivity, as it allows readers to understand the perspective from which the data is presented.
  • Concerns are raised about the credibility of individual polls and the variability in polling results, with some expressing skepticism about the reliability of the data presented by both sites.
  • One participant emphasizes the need to wait for more data, suggesting that the political landscape is still evolving and that premature conclusions about the election outcome should be avoided.
  • Another participant expresses frustration with the attribution of bias, arguing that it should not be applied where it does not exist.
  • There is a mention of the potential for swings in polling data and the importance of analyzing trends over time rather than focusing on individual results.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether the websites are biased. There are competing views on the interpretation of the results and the implications of the authors' political affiliations.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the variability in polling data and the lack of correlation for swings in results, which raises questions about the reliability of the polling methods used by the websites.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to individuals analyzing political polling, those studying media bias, and readers seeking to understand the dynamics of electoral predictions in the context of an election.

GENIERE
The links below tally Electoral College votes on a daily basis, one with Democratic bias, and the other with Republican bias.

http://www.electionprojection.com/elections2004.html

http://www.electoral-vote.com/


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Which bias are you attributing to which site?
 
I report, you decide.
 
Thats how the media should be
 
What? They both show Bush winning by about the same margin, how could you consider either biased? If you're saying one source is biased liberally and one conservatively, part of your "report" should be telling which is biased which, and supporting your claim with facts.
 
wasteofo2 said:
What? They both show Bush winning by about the same margin, how could you consider either biased?
I tend to agree. Certainly, it is possible to bias a survey (typically, its in the wording of the question or the sampling technique), but when both have the same result (within each's margin for error), the biases - especially if expected to be opposites - can be concluded to be relatively low.
 
So that's it pretty much it. When Russ agrees with me that something isn't so, it takes someone pretty far out there to contest it is.
 
ta daaaaaah ! :biggrin:
 
Duh! Usually when I come across a new political site I make an effort to determine its bias, or lack thereof. This blogger, in his bio, states:

http://www.electionprojection.com/elections2004.html

“…As you would probably guess by now, my politics are conservative…”


Whereas this blogger states in FAQs”

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

“…I am a Kerry supporter. I am open about that…”

I attribute the difference in results to represent the blogger’s , perhaps unintended, bias.

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  • #10
In my experience, being open about your bias is the biggest indicator of objectivity. Everyone has one so trying to hide it is a good indication that it effects your objectivity. Both of these guys have done a good job.
I attribute the difference in results to represent the blogger’s , perhaps unintended, bias.
But that's just it - statistically, there is no difference in their results.
 
  • #11
There's a difference between wanting one candidate to win and purposely biasing your facts. There are lots of different polls out there, if the guy who supports Kerry really were biased, he'd have no reason not to go scrounge around for random polls with Kerry ahead and paste them all together to make it seem like Kerry will undoubtedly win, but he hasn't. I know that I've seen many polls differing greatly on national and state-wide numbers, and if anyone put a concerted effort into it, they could go around and find random polls that would show their guy winning in a landslide.

Just chill out and wait a bit, Iraq is turbulent, the debates (which are more like mutual press conferences) are coming up, there're always going to be "October Surprises", just wait a while before you go proclaiming Bush the winner. I think a telling sign that the race is close is that not even official Bush representatives on TV are willing to say anything like "Kerry's through", they all caution people that it will be a close race.
 
  • #12
russ_watters said:
...But that's just it - statistically, there is no difference in their results.

Statiscally borderline, but I'll cede all points posters have made or might make relevant to bias 'cause I'm not interested! I listed two sites, trying to be open minded. I should have known better. I expected no replies; I simply passed on links to two sites I found interesting.

Jeeesh!

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  • #13
just don't try to attribute bias where non exist geniere
 
  • #14
GENIERE- I'm on to you man...reverse phsycology...good one.
 
  • #15
I don't think the posted results of either is biased. The electoral_vote.com definitely isn't. There's virtually no screening of polls. All are accepted. Whether that's a good thing or not is open to debate.

Regardless, the wild swings between different polls and even occasionally within a given poll with nothing to correlate the swings to makes me wonder about the credibility of any individual poll. That's why I like electoral_vote.com. You can look at the graphs for the individual states and draw your own conclusions about the accuracy of the current standings.
 
  • #16
IMO it would be a good time to look at these sites and get a base line to campare results after the debate.
 

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