[...] Blacks, Latinos and Asians simply don't exist when it comes to that driving force in American politics, public-opinion polls.
As the saying goes, polls are just "a snapshot in time." But consider that when it comes to the real demographics of the New America, most polls usually don't give you the full picture.
You're definitely not getting a color photograph.
Look at any poll for a breakdown by race -- black, Latino, Asian -- and, in the vast majority, there aren't enough people of color in the sampling to produce any reliable information.
That's not necessarily because polls are racist. It's just that a poll is only as inclusive as the pollster wants it to be. And most political campaigns and media organizations don't care enough to spend the time or the money to get more than the horse race.
Even when a poll has more in-depth questions (meaning its organizers have spent more time and money), polling science works against getting good information. A poll's worth is based on its randomness: The more random the sample among the public, the more credible its results.
That's why pollsters cast a broad net. Afterward, when reviewing the sample for tidbits on racial subgroups, there are never enough blacks, Latinos or Asians among them to make a worthwhile assessment.
And then there's the matter of polling in foreign languages. Can you get Asian or Latino sentiment with pollsters who speak only English?
Outdated polling methods seem innocent enough -- that is, until you realize it's the common way the U.S. political establishment renders America's nonwhite voters -- 40 percent of the American people, according to the latest U.S. Census -- statistically insignificant. [...]
| Go back for the rest of Emil Guillermo's San Francisco Chronicle column "The Invisible Electorate"
posted in articles on September 21, 2004 2:26 PM | t (1)
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