Online panel discussion and live Q&A featuring guest speakers
In 2020, political polling was better than in 2016 but is still struggling to regain some of the accuracy it lost as technological and social change undermined how it had been conducted for decades.
On Wednesday, February 24, three American political scientists with extensive backgrounds in elections, campaigns, and polling/social research will join us to discuss what the polls got right (and wrong) in 2020. We will also ask them to consider the effects — good, bad, and indifferent — of polling on elections specifically and our democracy more generally.
Professor Michael Martinez – University of Florida
Professor Jeff Hill – North Eastern Illinois University
Professor Julio Borquez – University of Michigan-Dearborn
Live sessions of Our American Values are hosted by Ted Everingham, former Chairman and current Board member of The War Memorial.
“…Polls predict outcomes based on people’s indicated behavior or preferences. If behavior suddenly changes, even the most methodically sound polls won’t have accurate data… ”
About Michael D. Martinez
Michael D. Martinez is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Professor Martinez’s research interests include the relationships between partisanship, issue preferences, and vote choice, as well as the causes and consequences of voter participation. His current research interests include a collaborative examination of how much (or little) variations in turnout matter to the outcome of elections. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Calgary in 1994 and has been a visiting professor several times at the University of British Columbia. Professor Martinez earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.
About Jeff Hill
Jeff Hill is a Professor of Political Science at Northeastern Illinois University and is a former chair of his department. Earlier in his career, he taught at Moorhead State University and Michigan State University. Professor Hill’s teaching and research focus on American Politics and Public Administration with a primary focus on 1) the impact of delegation on public policy, and 2) the impact of campaigns on elections, and particularly the impact of campaign appearances. Professor Hill earned his Ph.D. at the University of Rochester.
About Julio Borquez
Julio Borquez is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Professor Borquez’s teaching and research have been concentrated in the areas of Voting and Elections, Media and Politics, Urban Politics, and Research Methods. He has a deep body of experience in survey research beginning with 1982’s Michigan gubernatorial election as a research assistant for the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR) in Ann Arbor. Professor Borquez earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.