This is a vitally important issue for survey quality, and quite frankly, something that is not new for media/public pollsters at all. The fact that partisan pollsters are making hay about this now is commendable, but awfully late in the game. The proliferation of robopolls may be eating into the business model for partisan firms and they feel the need to point out the necessity for dialing cell phones. Could be some self-service going on here. Regardless of the motivations, it’s a step in the right direction.

As for our views on sampling cell phones, it’s absolutely essential to include for any reliable poll. Without reaching the cell-only population you are missing up to 40 percent of eligible poll respondents for a national poll. And that can go higher in some states and localities. The Washington Post-ABC News national poll completes 30 percent of its interviews among cellphone only respondents. We sample up to 50 percent of cellphone only for Washington, D.C. city polls. By sampling only people on landlines, you systematically exclude certain groups of people, especially younger people and non-whites. And as Brian notes in his analysis, the attitudes of the cellphone only crowd are materially different from similar landline only people.

There is no indication that the move toward cell phone only is slowing down or reversing. If anything it is speeding up.