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Poor and Old more likely to have landlines - Are they skewing the polls?
Vanity | today | jerodcan

Posted on 10/22/2008 4:28:13 AM PDT by jerod

Almost all polling is still done with people who have landlines.

Who has landlines?

I don’t. A couple of years ago I did but I dropped mine, and I’ll bet a lot of other people dropped theirs too. If you have a cellphone, you can call anybody anytime you want. Why bother paying two bills?

So who are the people with landlines?

I’d venture to say that poor people and older people are probably more likely to have landlines. Young people, rich people and conservative spenders, those who are smart enough to figure out that 1 bill is better than 2, do not have landlines.

Poor people and old people trend more Democratic than most voters. Therefore, I believe the polls during this election are much more skewed in favor of Democrats than in any previous election.

It’s just a theory, but we’ll see come election night.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Politics/Elections; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: 2008polls; landline; leftwingconspiracy; polls
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To: bert
Why does Sat TV need a telephone line?

It doesn't need to be for Sat TV to work.
However, if you are a frequent Pay-Per-View type viewer, it makes it a lot easier.
I never use Pay-Per-View, but I get a $10 per month discount just by having the Sat box hooked up to a land line.

41 posted on 10/22/2008 5:09:33 AM PDT by cuz_it_aint_their_money ("I'm not voting for McCain... I'm voting for Sarah Palin in November.")
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To: meyer
Reverse 911? For WHAT?

We got one for a bear seen in our neighborhood last May.

One reason I keep my landline phone is in case of extended blackouts. Do people realize that after all the back-up batteries are used up they will be cut-off from phone, internet and, after Feburary '09, TV if there is any natural diaster in their area? I hope there are still radio broadcast signals you can pick up with rabbit ears after the changeover. . . for weather and emergency purposes.

42 posted on 10/22/2008 5:09:41 AM PDT by MissCalico
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To: jerod
Almost all polling is still done with people who have landlines.

By the way, how do you figure? And if so, where are they getting the numbers from?

I was always under the impression that most polls were conducted by random digit dialing, which would both be more cost effective and give better data.

43 posted on 10/22/2008 5:10:51 AM PDT by Publius Valerius
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To: jerod
We have a landline because we can not get decent service where I live. A cell phone would never be reliable enough.

So by your reasoning it would also be more likely that rural voters are more likely to have land lines. That would not be good news for McCain.

44 posted on 10/22/2008 5:13:54 AM PDT by codercpc
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To: bert

I’ve had Directv for 6 years and no landline. They can work around it. I live in a tiny community and all family/friends are local long distance, which costs a fortune. I’ve been cell phone only since moving there and have had no problems.


45 posted on 10/22/2008 5:14:42 AM PDT by cjshapi (Proudly posting without a tagline since 2001)
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To: meyer
Reverse 911? For WHAT?

You ever try to call 911 on a cell?

During an emergency?

Not fun. :)

46 posted on 10/22/2008 5:16:37 AM PDT by CE2949BB (McCain/Palin 08)
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To: caver
I still have a landline but only to get DSL service.

Same here. I'd drop the landline in a heartbeat if I could get cable where I live.

47 posted on 10/22/2008 5:18:45 AM PDT by giotto
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To: ZX12R; bert

Updates and new features are delivered to the DirecTV receiver by phone.


48 posted on 10/22/2008 5:22:26 AM PDT by Bobarian (Green: It's the new Red.)
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To: taildragger
If you tell no one your cell, these annoying calls can't find you.

FCC regulations, specifically 47 CFR Sec. 64. 1200, prohibit telemarketers from using an automated dialer, prerecorded messages or artificial voice to call any number assigned to cell phone service or any service for which the called party is charged for the incoming call.

49 posted on 10/22/2008 5:24:00 AM PDT by Thermalseeker (Silence is not always a Sign of Wisdom, but Babbling is ever a Mark of Folly. - B. Franklin)
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To: jerod
Well, see there are a few issues with strictly cell - when the power goes out and the cell towers go down with it, you're stuck. Our DSL is actually off the cable, but there are a lot of people that do use phone service for this. And then there's the little matter of fax machines.

I don't know that it's skewing the polls, but people not answering the phone at the dinner hour might be. Drives me crazy.

50 posted on 10/22/2008 5:27:31 AM PDT by Desdemona (Lipstick only until the election. The gloss has been sacrificed for the greater good.)
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To: Bobarian
Updates and new features are delivered to the DirecTV receiver by phone.

I don't seem to need them. I haven't had a line connected for 8 years, and upgraded to a Hi-Def dish last year.
51 posted on 10/22/2008 5:27:40 AM PDT by ZX12R
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To: jmcenanly
In the quarter century since then, we have come full circle.

Is this 1957?

52 posted on 10/22/2008 5:33:13 AM PDT by USS Alaska (Nuke the terrorist savages - In Honor of Standing Wolf)
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To: jerod

We haven’t had a land line for about a year. We have a digital video phone. We also have cell phones. I haven’t been polled at all this year.


53 posted on 10/22/2008 5:35:13 AM PDT by stand 4 something
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To: Cringing Negativism Network
... it seems a big leap to presume those not infatuated with tech gimmicks, make their decisions based on being broke.

I do that everyday............

54 posted on 10/22/2008 5:39:10 AM PDT by Red Badger (My wallet is made out of depleted you-owe-mium........)
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To: Desdemona
Well, see there are a few issues with strictly cell - when the power goes out and the cell towers go down with it, you're stuck.

In 18 years in the business I've personally commissioned over 7000 cellular telephone sites in 49 states and 16 countries. Every single site I commissioned had large backup battery arrays installed which will keep the site on the air for several hours (usually 6-10 hours) in the event of a power interruption. About 70% of the cells I've commissioned, and all mobile telephone switching offices (MTSO's) I've worked in or installed, also had automatic backup generators on site. The remaining 30% or so of the cells I've commissioned had the capability of being powered by portable backup generators, i.e., a generator transfer switch installed, to allow for portable generator backup in the event of extended power failures.

The problem with power outages and cell system failure, by and large, is more closely related to the land line phone company and their inability to provide line power to their T-1 repeaters, which feed voice and data to remote cell sites. Remote cells use either phone company provided T-1 or cell carrier owned terrestrial microwave to deliver voice and data to the remote transmission sites. Usually, a microwave fed site will stay up during a power failure and a T-1 fed site will go off air. This assumes, of course, that the cell carrier performs routine maintenance to keep the backup systems functioning properly.

55 posted on 10/22/2008 5:50:30 AM PDT by Thermalseeker (Silence is not always a Sign of Wisdom, but Babbling is ever a Mark of Folly. - B. Franklin)
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To: USS Alaska
My mistake. That should have read Three quarters of a century.

However,A lot of Obama's high poll numbers may be due to the MSM playing Tokyo Rose, attempting to discourage those who are fighting for America.

56 posted on 10/22/2008 6:35:55 AM PDT by jmcenanly
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To: meyer
I would say that what’s potentially skewing polls is caller ID.

You have a point there, and the pollsters are not willing to admit that little nugget. The wife and I never answer the phones when we see any number that starts with 000, 800, 866, 877, unavailable, and ESPECIALLY the POLITICAL CALL pop up on the caller ID.

57 posted on 10/22/2008 9:25:24 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952 (Will it be "comrade" after the elections?)
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To: itsthejourney
And I stop here before explaining our “back up” for the septic system.

LOL!!!

58 posted on 10/22/2008 9:27:32 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952 (Will it be "comrade" after the elections?)
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