According to the Journal Star’s midday update, the latest poll numbers for governor are as follows:

• Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) — 44%
• Judy Barr Topinka (R) — 40%
• Rich Whitney (G) — 7%
• Undecided — 9%

The margin of error for this poll (provided by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research) is ±4%, so the front runners are in a “statistical dead heat.”

I got to thinking about these polls…. Peoria County Clerk JoAnn Thomas has stated that 1,500 people have already voted in the county (not including the city) — that’s roughly 3% of the total registered voters in the county (approx. 50,000). If that’s the trend statewide, that’s a significant percentage. In contrast, Mason-Dixon polled 625 “likely voters” out of 7.3 million registered voters in Illinois.

So, the question is, how long do you think it will be before we start seeing polls of early voters instead of likely voters? If there are enough early voters to make the sample statistically diverse enough, couldn’t you just see pollsters calling an election before election day even arrives? I think it’s just a matter of time.