The election is quickly approaching. Every day, the various media outlets talk about this poll, that poll, margin of error. One candidate is reported to be ahead by a certain percentage, yet, the other candidate is also reported to be ahead. And the polling information changes by the day. If you wonder what it all means, join the League of Women Voters at Fusion 54 for a two-part series at noon today and at noon Oct. 31.
Shamira Gelbman, Political Science Professor at Wabash College, and students from her election polling course will present a discussion today about how election polls are conducted, what the margin of error is and how it is applied, and what to consider when hearing about the polls in the news and on social media.
Gelbman’s students will be conducting exit polling on Election Day, so the Oct. 31 discussion will center around exit polling. She will discuss the polling the students will be conducting and the uses and misuses of exit polling.
Gelbman earned her Ph.D. in government at the University of Virginia in 2008 and has been on the Wabash faculty since 2012, teaching a wide range of courses on American politics.
Both events are free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided for this series, courtesy of a grant from the Community-Engaged Alliance.
