October 22, 2004, Hour One: Election Science

Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > October > October 22, 2004:
Hour One: Election Science

The presidential elections are less than two weeks away--what can voters expect when they step behind the curtain? In this hour of Science Friday, it's a round-up of election science news. From paper trails for touch screen machines to optical scans and butterfly ballots, how will technology affect the election results? We'll get the latest in the controversy over the use of electronic systems for counting this year's vote.

And amid charges from both sides that pollsters are manipulating the data, we'll take a look at how polls are constructed, and what their results tell us about election day. Why do so many polls seem to say different things about the upcoming election? Can polls influence public opinion, in addition to measuring it?

Plus, seven tips to make sure your vote counts. Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern).

Guests:
Michael Alvarez
Professor, Political Science
Co-Director, Cal-Tech/ MIT Voting Technology Project
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, California

Annalee Newitz
Author, "Sorry, Your Vote Has Been (Lost, Hacked, Miscast, Recorded Twice)" November 2004, Popular Science
Syndicated Columnist, "Techsploitation"
Media Coordinator and Policy Analyst, Electronic Frontier Foundation
San Francisco, California

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Cliff Zukin
Vice President, American Association for Public Opinion Research
Professor, Public Policy
Eagleton Institute of Politics
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey

Scott Keeter
Director of Survey Research
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
Washington, DC

This segment produced by Annette Heist

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