Feb. 1, 2020 - Partners Cancel Release of Final Installment of the Iowa Poll

2020 « Media « Covering the 2020 Presidential Campaign « Final Installment of Iowa Poll

tweet from CNN Communications
Feb. 1, 2020 9:06 PM
@CNNPR

Statement on the final installment of the CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll:

CNN, the Des Moines Register and Selzer & Company will not be releasing the final installment of the CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll.
A respondent raised an issue with the way their interview was conducted, which could have compromised the results of the poll.
We were unable to ascertain what happened during this respondent's interview, and cannot determine if this was a single isolated incident. CNN, The Des Moines Register and Selzer & Company aim to uphold the highest standards of survey research and therefore the partners decided not to proceed.

Des Moines Register
Carol Hunter, Des Moines Register
Published 8:01 p.m. CT Feb. 1, 2020 | Updated 6:46 a.m. CT Feb. 2, 2020

From the editor: Des Moines Register, partners cancel release of Iowa Poll after respondent raises concerns

The Des Moines Register, CNN and Selzer & Co. have made the decision to not release the final installment of the CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll as planned Saturday evening.

Nothing is more important to the Register and its polling partners than the integrity of the Iowa Poll. Today, a respondent raised an issue with the way the survey was administered, which could have compromised the results of the poll. It appears a candidate’s name was omitted in at least one interview in which the respondent was asked to name their preferred candidate.

While this appears to be isolated to one surveyor, that could not be confirmed with certainty. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution, the partners made the difficult decision not to move forward with releasing the poll. The poll was the last one scheduled by the polling partners before the first-in-the-nation Iowa presidential caucuses, which are Monday.

J. Ann Selzer, whose company conducts the Iowa Poll, said, “There were concerns about what could be an isolated incident. Because of the stellar reputation of the poll, and the wish to always be thought of that way, the heart-wrenching decision was made not to release the poll. The decision was made with the highest integrity in mind.”

The Register has published the Iowa Poll for 76 years, and it is considered the gold standard in political polling. Selzer & Co., which conducts the poll, is recognized for its excellence in polling. It is imperative whenever an Iowa Poll is released that there is full confidence that the data accurately reflects Iowans’ opinions.

ed. note: Axios provided the details, reporting, "An interviewer at the poll's call center increased the font size of the questionnaire on their screen so much that the bottom choice (which rotated between calls) wasn't visible." See Rebecca Falconer, Mike Allen. "Font Fiasco tanks climactic Iowa poll." Axios, Feb. 2, 2020.