Boasting a sample size 20 times larger than most nationally representative surveys, the federally funded 2022 Collaborative Midterm Survey will collect extensive information on voters’ attitudes toward candidates and key issues including the economy, abortion, race relations, political polarization and authoritarianism.

Importantly, the sample of roughly 20,000 also means that – for the first time – it will be possible to evaluate how different survey methods can be combined to offer the most representative data, not just across the U.S. but in key states such as California, Florida and Wisconsin, said Peter K. Enns, professor of government and public policy in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy.

After an open call for proposals, the Cornell team in September selected three teams to conduct the monthlong midterm survey, collecting data from Oct. 26 to Nov. 22: SSRS; the Iowa Social Science Research Center and researchers at the University of Iowa; and partners Gradient Metrics and Survey 160. Each team will collect probability- and nonprobability-based samples and utilize at least two recruitment methodologies – reaching voters in both English and Spanish via mail, text, online panels or calls to land lines and mobile phones.