Letter to the Editor: Murphy-McMahon a 'Dead Heat'? Not Exactly

In a September 19th article, "UCONN/Hartford Courant Poll Shows McMahon Murphy In Dead Heat," published in the Hartford Courant recently, the Courant quoted a poll which sampled voters from the following categories:

Democrat, number polled 263 

Independent, number polled 92 

Republican, number polled 143

Put another way, the number of Democrats which were polled was 263. The number of Independents and Republicans combined polled was 235.

A poll which samples more Democrats than Independents and Republicans combined cannot be considered fair or accurate. In this poll, the Democratic candidate is clearly advantaged by the skewed numbers. 

The Hartford Courant newspaper issued a press release stating, "the purpose of the poll is to provide unbiased opinion research". Bias, as demonstrated in the McMahon/Murphy poll, hardly rises to the Courant's lofty claim. It merely calls into question the editor's motives.

Regrettably, the credibility of the newly formed University of Connecticut and the Hartford Courant polling partnership has been diminished in my view.

Jay Berardino

Durham