http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wium/local-wium-931775.mp3
Macomb, IL – Cell phones could be impacting some of this year's campaigns.
It's estimated one out of four homes no longer has a land line. Western Illinois University Communication Professor John Miller said that makes it more difficult for pollsters.
"When you deal with a cell phone, it costs you more money to do it and you have to hand dial it. One of the rules and regulations is you're not allowed to do auto dialing," Miller said.
Miller said national campaigns have enough money to work around it. But he said that's not the case with congressional and statehouse races. Thus, people who use only cell phones do not get polled about those contests.
Miller said Pew Research found this led to a 2% to 3% bias toward Republican candidates in the pre-election polls conducted in 2008.
"The current impact that Pew is maintaining is that it's now a 4% to 6% impact in terms of Republican bias in the polls," said Miller.
Miller said that raises questions about the validity of polling data.
He said that data has another impact too. It could also cause some people to not vote or participate in a campaign because they feel their candidate will lose.
Miller expects campaigns to promote "get out the vote" drives before the elections and urge voters to ignore the polls.
Miller spoke during a panel discussion at WIU.