exit poll

E

exit poll

Meaning

• a survey of voters conducted as they leave polling stations to predict election outcomes.
• a tool to understand voting behavior and voter demographics.
• a method for early election result indications, often reported on election night.
• a technique involving systematic interviews with a random selection of voters at chosen polling stations.
• a predictive tool used since the mid-20th century, evolving with survey technology.
• identifies key voter issues, demographic voting patterns, and election outcomes.
• a sampling method using cluster and stratified sampling for a representative demographic sample.

Example Sentences

1. The news channel released the exit poll results, suggesting a tight race between the two leading candidates.
2. The economy and healthcare issues influenced most voters, according to the exit poll.
3. Volunteers conducted an exit poll outside the polling station to gauge voter sentiment immediately after they cast their ballots.
4. After the official election results revealed a different outcome, people questioned the accuracy of the exit poll.
5. An exit poll indicated that younger voters overwhelmingly supported the new education reform policy.

Origin and History

There are different opinions on who invented the exit poll. Marcel van Dam, a Dutch sociologist and former politician, claims he was the first. He implemented an exit poll during the Dutch legislative elections on February 15, 1967. Other sources credit Warren Mitofsky, an American pollster, for creating an exit poll for CBS News in the Kentucky gubernatorial election in November of the same year. The earliest mention of exit polls, however, dates back to the 1940s in Denver, Colorado.

The United States introduced exit polling in the 1960s. Political and media groups wanted to understand voter demographics and the reasons for their choices. Initially, CBS News used exit polls to estimate the 1967 Kentucky gubernatorial election outcome. This effort grew into a multimillion-dollar operation. A group of television networks now sponsors exit polls to project race winners and explain voter preferences. Despite technical issues, internal disputes, and incorrect calls, exit polls became central to media election coverage.

Political