Americans Trust but Don't Listen to Political Polls, Says New FindLaw.com Survey

How much attention do Americans pay to the results of political polls? Do they trust the accuracy of the polls? And do the poll results influence how they vote? A new national survey conducted by FindLaw.com, the most-visited legal information Web site, sheds some new light on what Americans think about political opinion polls. FindLaw is a Thomson Reuters business.

    --  Four out of 10 American adults say they pay little or no attention to
        political opinion polls. While 26 percent say they pay a lot of
        attention or extremely close attention to poll results, 33 percent say
        they pay only some attention, and the largest group -- 40 percent --
        says they pay little or no attention to the polls. The survey also
        showed that female, older and more educated people tend to pay closer
        attention to political polls.

    --  When asked about the accuracy of the polls, only 11 percent of
        Americans feel the surveys are either extremely accurate or very
        accurate. Fifty-seven percent believe they are somewhat accurate, 20
        percent feel they are not very accurate, and 10 percent say they are
        not accurate at all.

    --  Eighty-three percent of Americans say the results of political opinion
        polls have little or no influence on how they vote. Overall, younger
        Americans with lower levels of income and education were more than
        twice as likely to say that political polls have at least some
        influence in how they vote.

    --  Those who consider themselves Democratic or leaning Democratic are
        more likely to pay attention to political polls than those who
        consider themselves Independent or Republican or leaning Republican.
        They also are more likely to say that political polls have at least
        some influence in how they vote. These results may be due, at least in
        part, to the closely contested fight for the Democratic presidential
        nomination.

Overall, the FindLaw.com survey results indicate that while most Americans generally believe that political polls are at least a somewhat accurate measure of the views of the electorate, a large percentage of Americans do not pay attention to the results of political polls and the vast majority of Americans say the polls have little or no influence on how they vote.

Listen to a podcast discussing the results of the survey at http://west.thomson.com/podcasts/archive.aspx

The survey was conducted during the first week of May using a telephone survey of a group of 1,000 randomly selected, demographically balanced American adults. Survey results are accurate plus-or-minus three percentage points.

    NOTE TO EDITORS:  Full survey results are available upon request.

About FindLaw

FindLaw, a business within Thomson Reuters, is the legal industry's most effective provider of online marketing and client development services. FindLaw provides law firms with Web sites and other online marketing services that generate new business with qualified prospects and build stronger, more profitable relationships with existing clients. Attorneys can also be prominently listed on our Web portal, FindLaw.com, the world's most-visited legal information site. To schedule an appointment with a FindLaw online marketing consultant, call 1-866-44FINDLAW (1-866-443-4635) or e-mail west.info-findlaw@thomson.com. Visit http://www.lawyermarketing.com for more information about the importance of law firm marketing.

Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. With headquarters inNew York and major operations inLondon andEagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people in 93 countries. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange; Toronto Stock Exchange; London Stock Exchange; and Nasdaq. For more information, go to http://www.thomsonreuters.com.

SOURCE FindLaw.com

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