Exit polls
by Zia ~ November 3rd, 2004. Filed under: Newsy.Confound those online political pundits known as bloggers, anyway. Hey, I’m the first to admit that bloggers are hardly the most reliable source–but I really love how the traditional media is taking the high moral road after the debacle of 2000. From the L.A. Times: “As they have in the past, television networks and newspaper websites refrained from reporting early exit poll results, but the Internet adheres to little such restraint.”
Restraint, indeed. Tell that one to Fox.
But yes, Slate published many of the exit polls on its site, along with an explanation of why and its source. (Find it here.) The source was National Election Pool (NEP), a consortium that consists of ABC, AP, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC, and contracts with Edison/Mitofsky.
According to NEP’s site:
The depth of information, including demographics, economics, political and issue-driven details, provides tremendous insight into the voters’ motivation.
and
Superior Reporting With Our Data
Exit polls / voter surveys are taken only minutes after citizens vote. The results are primary sources from which we can understand the motivations and patterns behind the actual vote.
Exit Polls Tell Us:
WHO voted for each candidate
WHY voters in your area made critical choices
WHERE geographical differences on candidates and issues were a factor.
It is our goal to make accurate data available to our subscribers with speed and clarity for the General Election in November.
It also says that the margin of error is +/- 3-4%.
And though I know nothing about this source, here’s another viewpoint anyway.