• ccunning@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    While nationwide surveys give important signals of American support for political candidates, a handful of competitive states typically tilt the balance in the U.S. Electoral College, which ultimately decides who wins a presidential election.

    The only poll that matters is in November

    • Jesus@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      If that were the case, Biden would still be in the race. But his swing state polls were not getting better.

      • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        But that’s the point. This is a national poll, not polling in swing states. It’s encouraging, but not necessarily predictive of victory.

        It’s like telling someone who has more yards in a football game. Yards are a good indicator of success, but winners are decided on points. Some points might require fewer yards. Winning in Wyoming is like a field goal after the other team fumbles on their own 20. Republicans get a lot of those simply by being bigots.

    • mommykink@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      True to an extent. Polls obviously don’t determine who’s going to win, but they can help campaigns adjust their strategies to hopefully pick up more votes in November.

    • lagomorphlecture@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      We need to eliminate the electoral college. It served its purpose and now it’s just a way to subvert democracy and negate the will of the majority of voters.