# Polls and voter turnout

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-and-voter-turnout/255271>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 15, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-and-voter-turnout/255271 "2004-07-15T16:06:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-and-voter-turnout/255271/1 "2004-07-15T16:06:57Z")

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I’d imagine some types of voters (depending on background, party affiliation, etc) are more likely to vote than others. If polls say candidates A and B have both 50% support, is it possible that supporters of A are more motivated than supporters of B and more likely to vote, meaning A actually has a significant lead? Or are poll results corrected for this effect and if so, how?

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-and-voter-turnout/255271/2 "2004-07-15T16:43:49Z")

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When polls are published, they are often accompanied by a line that says “of likely voters”. This is determined in a number of ways: often by merely asking if the respondent is likely to vote or by asking if they have voted in previous elections.

[This British site](http://www.populuslimited.com/methodology.html) has a good explanation of methodology of polling. A few minor details are different from those in the U.S. but the general principles are the same.