October 21, 2016
Institute to host discussion of polls, campaigns
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- With elections fast approaching, the impressions of 2016 political campaigns and of recent polls by Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute are up for discussion next week.
“Popcorn and Politics” will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, in Student Center Ballroom B. Admission is free and the public is invited. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The public policy institute and the College of Liberal Arts are program sponsors.
David Yepsen, institute director, and John Jackson, institute visiting professor, along with Kenneth Mulligan, associate professor, political science, and Todd Graham, director of debate, will participate. Yepsen and Jackson will discuss findings of six recently released statewide Simon Polls, including the presidential and U.S. Senate races, and the public’s opinion on the direction of the nation and state. Mulligan and Graham will give their impressions of the 2016 campaigns.
There have been nine years of Simon Polls dating to 2008, and the polling has provided an important research initiative, Yepsen said. The leading public opinion archives in the country accept the polls due to the high polling standards used, he said.
“It helps us understand why people in Illinois feel the way they do about their government and public policy questions. It contributes to the public debate and education,” Yepsen said.
More information is available at http://paulsimoninstitute.siu.edu/ or by calling 618/453-4009.