AP VoteCast, Senate Runoff Elections, Georgia, 2020 (ICPSR 39764)

Version Date: Jun 23, 2026

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Principal Investigator(s):
Jennifer Benz, Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research; Trevor Tompson, Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research

Series:

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39764.v1

Version V1

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Summary

AP VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News and The Associated Press. The survey is funded by AP. AP VoteCast was conducted in Georgia for their two 2021 Senate runoff elections. The survey of 4,565 registered voters was conducted December 28, 2020, to January 5, 2021, concluding as polls closed on Election Day. Interviews were conducted via phone and web, with 186 completing by phone and 4,379 completing by web.

AP VoteCast combines interviews with a random sample of registered voters drawn from state voter files with self-identified registered voters selected from nonprobability online panels. Interviews were conducted in English. Respondents may have received a small monetary incentive for completing the survey. Participants selected from state voter files were contacted by phone and mail, and had the opportunity to take the survey by phone or online.

In Georgia, VoteCast is based on 1,173 probability-based interviews conducted online and via phone, and 3,392 nonprobability interviews conducted online. The margin of sampling error is estimated to be plus or minus 2.1 percentage points for voters (n=3,792) and 4.5 percentage points for nonvoters (n=773). The unweighted response rate for the probability sample drawn from the Georgia state voter file was 1.9%.

Citation

Benz, Jennifer, and Tompson, Trevor. AP VoteCast, Senate Runoff Elections, Georgia, 2020. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2026-06-23. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39764.v1

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Funding

Associated Press

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

State

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2020-12-28 -- 2021-01-05

Date of Collection

2020-12-28 -- 2021-01-05

Data Collection Notes

  1. For additional information, please visit the study website.
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Study Purpose

The purpose of this study is to survey the electorate in Georgia.

Sample

Probability-based Registered Voter Sample: NORC obtained a sample of registered voters from Catalist LLC's registered voter database. This database includes demographic information, as well as addresses and phone numbers for registered voters, allowing potential respondents to be contacted via mail and telephone. The sample was stratified by the four-level partisanship category and five-level predicted response propensity category. In addition, NORC attempted to match sampled records to a registered voter database maintained by L2, which provided additional phone numbers and demographic information. After the matching, NORC had phone numbers for 81% of sampled records, including cell phone numbers for 77% of records with a phone number. Prior to dialing, all probability sample records were mailed a postcard inviting them to complete the survey either online using a unique PIN or via telephone by calling a toll-free number. Postcards are addressed by name to the sampled registered voter if that individual is under age 35; postcards are addressed to "Georgia Registered Voter" in all other cases. Not all sampled records with a telephone number were dialed; instead, dialing was reserved for sampled records in the two lowest predicted response propensity quintiles that had not already responded online. Telephone interviews were conducted with the adult that answers the phone. Both online and telephone respondents provided confirmation of registered voter status in the state.

Nonprobability Sample: Nonprobability participants were provided by Dynata and Lucid, including members of their third-party panels. Digital fingerprint software and panel-level ID validation is used to prevent respondents from completing the VoteCast survey multiple times. Nonprobability respondents provided confirmation of registered voter status in the state. A response rate cannot be calculated for nonprobability sample. While there is no way to quantify the size of the non-covered population for an opt-in panel, the primary population least likely to be included is those without internet access. Interviews were conducted in English.

Dynata used router technology to recruit participants, and all available panelists in Georgia were recruited. Among the 2,259 panelists who touched the pre-screener instrument, 1,556 went on to complete the full survey. Panelists confirmed voter registration status in Georgia. Dynata's system requires respondents to enter a unique ID to enter the survey, and this built-in technology prevents respondents from completing the survey more than once.

Lucid's suppliers invited respondents to the survey using email invites and panelist recruitment. Before sending them into the survey, Lucid targeted and pre-screened respondents age 18 and older on the basis of state location with zip code and registered voter status. Among the 2,395 panelists who touched the pre-screener instrument, 1,836 went on to complete the full survey. Panelists confirmed voter registration status in Georgia. Lucid assigns respondents a unique ID each time they take a survey, which locked them out if they attempted to complete the survey more than once.

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Registered voters in the state of Georgia.

Unit(s) of Observation

Individual

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Response Rates

The unweighted response rate for the probability sample drawn from the Georgia state voter file was 1.9%. The design weighted response rate for the probability sample was 2.0%.

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Original Release Date

2026-06-23

Version History

2026-06-23 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Created online analysis version with question text.
  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

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Weight

VoteCast employed a four-step weighting approach that combined the probability sample with the nonprobability sample, and refined estimates at a subregional level within Georgia.

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Notes