Pre-election polls in the 2014 Brazilian elections: error, accuracy and controversy

Abstract

This article analyses pre-election polls held during the 2014 Brazilian elections, when the presidency and 27 gubernatorial seats were at stake. Although the reliability of Brazilian elections has not been questioned for quite some time, there have been increasing complaints from different political actors as to the quality and the possible influence of polls on election results. The aim of the paper is to review this controversy both at the methodological level - discussing different ways to define and measure poll errors - and at the legislative level - gathering information on proposals to retrench pollsters during election time.