As we enter the frenzy of campaign season, polls are everywhere. They inspire us and scare us; they mark momentum and make the news.  But isn’t polling broken? Who answers a landline, anyway?

As part of the ongoing Higher Ground Labs 2020 Webinar series, we spoke with three companies on the cutting edge of polling and election forecasting: Change Research, Survey160, and Deck. These groups each bring a novel approach to a changing industry. And their work helps us understand the work ahead. Our webinar offered an in-depth look at each company within the broader data and analytics landscape.

The three groups agree: response rates on landlines are falling. But their approach to solving the problem varies. Change Research relies on digital advertising to reach voters on social platforms. Deck forecasts election outcomes — and helps campaigns allocate resources accordingly — based on media mentions, candidate and district demographics and campaign finance history. Survey160 conducts surveys over SMS, which allows respondents to answer on their own time. All three approaches show great promise in providing better election and electorate polling capability. The founders each emphasized the importance of accessibility and speed when producing live research. Each group offered real-life use cases where their products made a difference in a winning campaign strategy.

For the first time, campaigns and causes have new ways of understanding their electorate at scale. Higher Ground Labs is proud to support these efforts.  

To learn more about the future of polling, watch the recording of the full webinar here.