How Exit Polls Are Evolving as More Americans Vote Early
Early voters can be missed by surveys conducted only outside polling places on Election Day. Explore how pollsters reach voters and what their methods reveal about the electorate.
From Share My Lesson: Who might a survey miss if it only reaches people leaving polling places on Election Day? Use this PBS News Hour Classroom lesson to help students examine how polling methods shape the information we get about voters. As they watch, ask them to consider how pollsters can include people who vote early or by mail.
What to Know
- On Election Day, candidates, campaign staffers and analysts are looking for more than the total number of voters. They also want to know who showed up to the polls and what issues were on their minds.
- Most voters vote in advance of election day, i.e. mail-in ballots, early voting, etc.
- Exit polls have traditionally involved people asking voters exiting the polls how they voted and what issues resonated with them.
- Traditional exit polls are evolving as the way people vote has changed, including figuring out how to contact those who voted in advance of the election.
Why It Matters
Voting is the backbone of a democracy. Regardless of how voters cast their ballot, David Scott, vice president of election services at the Associated Press (AP), said it's important for Americans to be given the opportunity to share who they voted for and why in order to "understand the fullness of the American electorate."
Discussion Questions
- What did polling organizations like the Associated Press have to do in order to make sure their exit polls were accurate, given the different ways Americans vote?
- How significant are exit polls to the electoral process (note Scott's words: to understand the fullness of the American electorate)?
- What do you think motivates people to vote? Which issues were you most concerned about this election season?
Want More? Learn How to Interpret Political Polls
Build students’ polling literacy with C-SPAN Classroom’s How to Interpret Political Polls. Use its explanation of representative samples to revisit who a survey includes, then have students apply the resource’s strategies to a published political poll.
Republished with permission from PBS News Hour Classroom.
PBS News Hour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories. The site combines the best of News Hour's reliable, trustworthy news program with lesson plans developed specifically for... See More
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