The “Richards effect” is the phenomenon in which polls consistently underestimate support for female candidates relative to white male candidates.
The termed was coined by political scientists Christopher Stout and Reuben Kline who noted that in the 1990 Texas gubernatorial …
Psephology is the scientific study and statistical analysis of elections and voting.
The term was coined in 1952 by Oxford Professor R. B. McCallum and is derived from the Greek word psephos, which means pebble, and references the pebbles used …
A “push poll” is a form of interactive marketing in which political operatives try to sway voters to believe in certain policies or candidates under the guise of an opinion poll.
More akin to propaganda than an actual unbiased opinion …
The “incumbent rule” is a rule of thumb used by pollsters that says incumbents rarely get a higher percentage in the election than they receive in polls, and that voters still undecided on the very last poll tend to “break” …
The “Bradley effect” is a polling phenomenon involving high support for non-white and non-female candidates in opinion polls not reflected by election results.
This phenomenon was coined following Tom Bradley’s (D) run for California governor in 1982. Bradley, …
An exit poll is a survey of voters taken immediately as they leave the polling place in which they are asked which candidate they chose.
They are typically conducted by media companies to get an early indication of who actually