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Imagine the following dilemma.

Suppose that during an election campaign you have decided on a party you are very keen to vote for, and another party you are very keen to see defeated.

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Then suppose a poll is published showing your preferred party is falling behind, stuck in third or fourth place, while your least-favoured party is in a close race at the top.

Do you change your vote to help the main rival of the unwanted party, even though that’s not your first choice? Is that desirable behaviour by a voter?

What happens if the poll on which you are relying is flawed? Would you know the difference?

Given some recent missteps, it’s fair to say Albertans and political polls have had a rocky relationship of late due to projections that really seemed to miss the boat.

The current provincial election campaign has offered additional food for thought.

While results that came out early were generally similar — showing a wide UCP lead and Edmonton as the only real battleground — numbers released later in the campaign have been all over the place.