Introducing the CBC Poll Tracker

You know that thing I was saying was in the works? The exciting announcement that I was to make after I returned from vacation? Well, it's here!

ThreeHundredEight.com's federal vote and seat projections are now being hosted by the CBC in its new interactive feature, the Poll Tracker. It has all the data that I had on this site, but rather than present it with static charts, it is now fully interactive. You can compare the current standings to where they were weeks ago, see the regional breakdowns for both seats and vote, browse through all the polls that have been released since the beginning of the year, and more.

And as the election campaign approaches, more features should be added to the Poll Tracker.

I've written a brief introduction on how to use the Poll Tracker here. It's pretty intuitive though. My favourite has to be the regional breakdowns, allowing you to isolate the numbers by party or region, and directly compare them to 2011.

Staying on this site during the campaign will be the riding projections. You can find them here, where they used to be. You can also click on the banner at the top of this page. I have changed how they are presented, which should make them easier to browse through.

I will do the best I can to keep the riding projections up-to-date with the latest projections on the Poll Tracker. Before the campaign starts in earnest, the lag should only be a matter of hours as I get the graphics ready to post on my site. During the campaign itself, however, my schedule is likely to be very hectic, and updating the riding projections may slip down the priority list. Hopefully I will still be able to keep them up-to-date within a day or two.

Because the projections are moving over to the CBC website, posts about federal politics will become less frequent here on ThreeHundredEight.com. But when there is a federal topic that only you junkies could love, I will try to post here.

Of course, when the campaign starts all original posts here on the site will slow to a trickle. My plan is to use ThreeHundredEight.com as a hub for the work I will be doing for the CBC during the campaign: articles, radio interviews, television appearances, and more. I'm already busy! You can still catch me every Wednesday on Power and Politics on CBC News Network and every Saturday on The House on CBC Radio (well, just not this Saturday as the show is 'on location' in Newfoundland and Labrador).

I'll post links to all of that here once the campaign begins (I may also throw in some other interesting links from other websites as well), so ThreeHundredEight.com can still be your go-to place for all things federal polls. The only difference is that once you go-to here, you'll then go-to somewhere on the CBC's website or elsewhere.

I'm really excited about this new feature and I hope you all will be as well. Please post your comments, questions, and feedback in the comments section below. Any problems or suggestions you have I will share with the CBC interactive team. Speaking of which, thanks go to Oscar MacDonald, Alisa Mamak, Adam Foord, Spencer Walsh, and Scott Utting and the rest of the interactive team for their fantastic work over the last few months to get this ready.

I think we're now all set for the campaign!