Here is an explanation from the associated press concerning one of its opinion polls. explain briefly but clearly in what way this explanation is incorrect. for a poll of 1,600 adults, the variation due to sampling error is no more than three percentage points either way. the error margin is said to be valid at the 95 percent confidence level. this means that, if the same questions were repeated in 20 polls, the results of at least 19 surveys would be within three percentage points of the results of this survey.