Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

Do the Polls Still Work?

Yes, public-opinion surveys are seriously flawed. But they’re still the best way to make sense of elections.

December 4, 2020 at 12:31 PM UTC

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

Not a great indicator.
Photographer: Octavio Jones/Getty

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The 2020 elections aren’t over. No, I don’t mean President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to undermine democracy. Nor do I mean New York’s embarrassingly long count — hey, New York, get your act together!