Low Republicans response rate phone surveys find similar shares of Republicans and Democrats as high response rate in-person surveys % of respondents identifying with political party
Telephone poll estimates for party affiliation, political ideology and religious affiliation continue to track well with estimates from high response rate surveys conducted in-person, like the General Social Survey. This provides strong evidence that decisions to participate in telephone surveys are not strongly related to political, social or religious attitudes. So even at low response rates, telephone surveys that include interviews via landlines and cellphones, and that are adjusted to match the demographic profile of the U.S., can produce accurate estimates for political attitudes.
Analysis of telephone survey respondents versus nonrespondents on variables from a national voter file suggests that survey participation is not strongly linked to partisanship. Affiliation with a particular political party does not appear to affect the likelihood that a person will participate in telephone polls, though those who participate in polls tend to vote more often than people who are less likely to take surveys.
Low Republicans response rate phone surveys find similar shares  | of Republicans and Democrats as high response rate  | in-person surveys  | % of respondents identifying with political party  | GSS Dem  | Pew Research Center Dem  | 35%  | 35% 31  | Pew Research Center  | Rep  | GSS Rep  | 1990  | 2000  | 2010  | 2016  | Note: GSS and Pew Research Center (GSS) question wording varies slightly.  | Note: Source: General Social Survey (GSS) and Pew Research Center surveys  | 1990 201 66  | WWat Low Response Rates Mean for Telephone Surveys  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 