270TOWIN: This was a very close call, but since the other polls were several weeks old, we decided not to weight them. This is generally the rule we’ve been following, but obviously it takes on added relevance in such an important swing state. Hopefully, there will be another Ohio poll out this week to give us a better perspective on whether our approach was correct or not.

270TOWIN: You actually make a very good point. We’re trying to stick primarily to the big 2 you mention, but there hasn’t been much out of Survey USA (at least that is publicly available) in recent weeks. While the Rasmussen polls look reasonable, we’re not sure it is a good idea to go with a single source. So, we’re trying to supplement these polls with others that we come across, particularly if they tell a different story that is more consistent with historical trends and/or they replace polls that are more than a couple weeks old. (For those that tell a different story, like the Michigan one you mention, we use an average). However, there isn’t any great science behind it other than trying to paint a balanced picture of what is out there. There aren’t many polls that we’ve seen that specifically ask about Nader or Barr, although there is sometimes an option for ‘other’. Barr’s name is most likely to show up in polls in Georgia and states with a strong Libertarian streak, like Alaska.