tracking poll
Continuous opinion measurement
A tracking poll measures changes in public opinion over time by surveying similar samples at regular intervals.
Unlike one-time polls, tracking polls reveal trends—whether a candidate is gaining or losing support, how attitudes shift after major events.
The tracking poll showed her lead narrowing in the final week of the campaign.
Allowable deviation from truth
- samplingExtracting subset for study
- respondentsThose who answer queries
- sample sizeQuantity of observations taken
- likely votersThose expected to vote
registered voters · weighting · rolling average · cross-tabulation · response rate · random sampling · telephone survey · fieldwork
Electorally competitive region
- battlegroundLocation of armed combat
- voter turnoutShare of eligible citizens voting
- electorateEligible voting body
- candidatePerson seeking selection
incumbent · challenger · nominee · primary · caucus · midterm · general election · ballot
Public opinion metric
- disapprovalUnfavorable opinion expressed
- favorabilityPositive perception rating
- momentumProduct of mass, velocity
- swingSuspended recreational seat
shift · surge · bounce · tightening · widening · lead · deficit · gap
margin of error
Allowable deviation from truth
- samplingExtracting subset for study
- respondentsThose who answer queries
- sample sizeQuantity of observations taken
likely voters · registered voters · weighting · rolling average · cross-tabulation · response rate · random sampling · telephone survey · fieldwork · statistical significance
swing state
Electorally competitive region
- battlegroundLocation of armed combat
- voter turnoutShare of eligible citizens voting
- electorateEligible voting body
candidate · incumbent · challenger · nominee · primary · caucus · midterm · general election · ballot · precinct
approval rating
Public opinion metric
- disapprovalUnfavorable opinion expressed
- favorabilityPositive perception rating
- momentumProduct of mass, velocity
swing · shift · surge · bounce · tightening · widening · lead · deficit · gap · trajectory
- surveyssurvey, surveys, questionnaire, questionnaires, census
- pollingsample, sample size, random sample, margin of error, confidence interval