They asked voters how likely they were to vote, and then weighted the results appropriately. It turns out that in this race, Republicans say they are far more likely to “absolutely vote” than Democrats, so Republican votes get weighted more highly. (By the way, if you’re ever polled by Gallup, say you will absolutely vote, so your vote can get ranked higher.) 65% of people who approve of Gray Davis are “extremely likely to vote”, while 79% of people who disapprove are “extremely likely to vote.”

Once they apply this weighting for “likely to vote”, the numbers shift a lot, favoring (of course) Republicans in the poll. That is how you go from 55% of “registered voters” to 63% of “likely voters.”

“I hate pants. This is something I have inherited from my father. He despised pants, and my mother was never allowed to wear them at home. We’re talking about a different time period now, when the man was much more the ruler of the house. But I still feel that way, and neither my mother nor Maria is allowed to go out with me in pants.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger

….he didn’t say he preferred that his wife not wear pants, he said he didn’t allow it — and in the process managed to make the women objecting to what he said sound petty and ridiculous. What kind of idiot would object, after all, if Arnold simply said he liked dresses better than pants? Who would care? The Times owes Roz Wyman and Jackie Goldberg a huge apology, and it owes readers the real quote.

Why can’t Arnold Schwarzenegger get his facts straight?” the narrator asks. “He has no experience, won’t answer press questions, won’t debate unless he has the questions in advance and didn’t even bother to vote in 13 of the last 21 elections.”