Do all pollsters target specific people to get the answers they want?

A credible organization like Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy does not target specific groups but rather samples the entire state to ensure a mix of respondents based on gender, age, region and political party.

Mason-Dixon randomly called 500 South Dakotans to get results for the South Dakota Poll, sponsored by News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota, using that strategy.

A representative mix of Republicans, Democrats and independents was surveyed.

For example, about 53% of all registered voters in South Dakota are Republican, and 52% of respondents in the South Dakota Poll identified as Republican. Likewise, Democrats account for 22% of registered voters statewide, and 24% in the poll identified as members of that party.

For geographic location, Mason-Dixon assigned quotas to reflect voter turnout by county.

Results and methodology from the South Dakota Poll will be released on Friday.