Reply #5: Depends on the poll, and even the question [View All]

The normal way to do it is to poll the general public for approval ratings, and then ask likely or registered voters who they will vote for. Sometimes they do opinion ratings amongst registered voters or likely voters only, but generally that is to measure a president's electability, and is often done in conjunction with re-election questions. For instance, they will ask likely voters who they plan to vote for, who they would vote for if the election were held today, and then what is their general impression of the candidates and the president. It's to get an idea of how people are making their decisions, such as are they supporting a candidate they give low marks to, which might indicate weak support for that candidate.

Other polls have different purposes, and measure the approval rating amongst the general populace. The problem is the media just sort of spurts out the poll numbers and doesn't bother to explain who is doing the poll and for what reasons. So you have to read carefully to find out whether a poll is tracking the approval of a president or is measuring his re-electability (sic). I doubt many in the media even take the time to learn what they are reporting nowadays. They all remind me of undergrads spouting out the shortest answer they can crib from a textbook, rather than doing any research to learn what they are reporting. (um, sorry for the rant).

I admit I haven't been watching many polls lately, so I don't know if that has changed. Did you have a specific poll in mind?