With two weeks to go, the 5 best places to follow presidential polls

If you haven't been following the U.S. presidential election, now is a good time to start. With two weeks to go, pundits everywhere are wondering whether Barack Obama's lead over John McCain will hold up. Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above, there are plenty of sites you can bookmark to keep up with the latest polling data. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Electoral-Vote.com
Electoral-Vote.com follows the current state polls and uses them to calculate the overall result of the election. It might not be the prettiest site design out there, but it updates regularly and makes it easy to see the states at a glance. You can also put in your own state-by-state prediction and let it calculate the result for you.

2. Real Clear Politics

Take Electoral-Vote, make it look a little cleaner, and make all the features more obvious. You'll end up with this electoral map from Real Clear Politics. You'll find easy links to maps from the past 10 elections, and you can scroll down to the see details of the polls they've included. There's also an option to remove or include "toss-up states." The polls included may vary slightly from what you'll see on Electoral-Vote, so it's up to you to pick the one you think is more accurate (or check both!)

3. FiveThirtyEight

Named after the number of electors in the electoral college, FiveThirtyEight bills itself as "electoral projections done right." It uses a different methodology than the other sites I've mentioned, weighting pollsters according to their historical track records. This is the most detailed of the polling sites, offering a scenario analysis of what would happen with different combinations of swing states. It's also respectable that the creators are transparent about their political affiliations, even though they're just running the numbers. (For the record, they're both voting Obama).

4. NailBite08

NailBite08 is an iPhone web app that serves as a front end for the numbers from Real Clear Politics. It was created by Neven Mrgan as a way to get polling info at a glance when you're on the go. It includes the InTrade Market odds, electoral votes with and without tossup states, and comparative approval ratings of the candidates. This aptly-named app is definitely directed at the political nailbiters amongst us.

5. How Is Obama Doing?


Far from the details provided by sites like RCP and FiveThirtyEight, How Is Obama Doing only tells you two things: how many points Barack Obama is ahead or behind in the popular vote, and how many days are left untll the election.

Tags: election, mccain, mccainvs.obama, news, obama, politics, president2008