Registration is closed. Please contact Christine Hurley with any questions.

Thursday, February 18

All times are CST 

1:00 p.m. -1:10 p.m.                  Welcome

1:10 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.                 What Did Polls Get Right & Wrong in 2020?

Were the polls more accurate than expected this cycle? Why was there a foregone
conclusion that they would be "wrong again?” In retrospect, did campaign methodology
accurately capture how the voting public felt about the candidates, the economy,
the pandemic and lockdowns? 

featuring: John Anzalone, ALG Research; Tony Fabrizio, Fabrizio, Lee, & Associates;
and Amy Walter, Cook Political Report (moderator)

2:20 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.                 Predictive or Just Addictive? Public Polling at a Crossroads

Has the media always been this addicted to polls? Is “horse race” journalism obscuring our
ability to understand voters' underlying concerns? This panel focuses on how news organizations
and their partner polling operations might adapt to earn back the trust of poll-skeptical readers and viewers.

featuring: Dan Balz, The Washington Post; David Chalian, CNN; Claudia Deane, Pew Research Center;
Bill McInturff, Public Opinion Strategies; and David Axelrod, UChicago Institute of Politics (moderator)

3:35 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.                 Conversation with J. Ann Selzer

Polling individual states can be tricky - it requires significant state-specific experience and exceptional
rigor to do it well. How can, and should, the industry approach state-level polling differently?

featuring: J. Ann Selzer, Selzer & Company and Charlie Cook, Cook Political Report (moderator)

Friday, February 19

9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.               Polling the Down-Ballot: Lessons Learned for Next Cycle & Beyond

House Democrats outperformed most expectations in 2018, but Republicans blew past forecasters'
down-ballot projections in 2020. Did private polling for candidates and parties detect underlying
conditions any better than public polling? Is there a danger of mid-term overcorrection?
And how will the business model for campaign polling change, if at all, in future cycles?

featuring: Brenda Gianiny, Axis Research; Brian Stryker, ALG Research; 
Jessica Taylor, Cook Political Report (moderator)

10:20 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.             Race, Demographics, the Future Electorate

This session will look at voting blocs of color including Hispanic/Latino, African-American,
and AAPI communities. Panelists will explore how accurately existing polling models capture the
concerns and values of minority demographic groups. How can polling and political research 
adjust to better understand these demographic groups? Can pollsters effectively forecast how these
groups will continue to impact elections.

featuring: Fernand Amandi, Bendixen & Amandi International; Matt Barreto, LD Insights;
Cathy Cohen, The University of Chicago; Terrance Woodbury, HIT Strategies; Juana Summers, NPR (moderator)

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.             Methodology & the Media: Building a Better Data-Informed Public

How can innovative survey research equip journalists to skip the horse race and unearth more
noteworthy stories about race dynamics? What can we learn from larger-sample academic studies
about attitudes that public polls might miss? Finally, and perhaps most importantly: how can we
better communicate data - and its limitations - to the broader public?

featuring: Cornell Belcher, brilliant corners; Nate Cohn, The New York Times; 
Ashley Kirzinger, Kaiser Family Foundation; David Shor, OpenLabs; 
David Wasserman, Cook Political Report (moderator)

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