What are exit polls? What they could mean on election night

After months of campaigning and a tough race between candidates, election day is finally here. And as polls close and votes are counted across the county, Americans will begin to await the results of local and national elections.

One tool used to try to make sense of the madness is exit polls, which are usually conducted as voters leave or leave their polling location. According to NBC News, it is the only national poll of known voters in the country.

The polls help news organizations like USA TODAY understand what the incoming results might mean as the night progresses. Although these are not official counting results, they at least give an idea of which candidates might be in the lead.

As election night approaches, here's how election polls work and what those polls could mean.

Who conducts exit surveys?

According to NBC News, Edison Research has been conducting surveys since 2003. These polls are conducted on behalf of the National Election Pool, a group of networks that includes ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News.

These four organizations pool their resources to conduct an exit survey. Each organization then independently analyzes and reports on the survey results.

What questions are asked for the exit survey?

According to NBC News, voters will be asked various questions during exit polls, such as: B. who they voted for president and which candidates they are voting for in other local and statewide elections.

Voters are also asked other questions that are somewhat broader, including: “What is the most important issue for your vote?”

Voters will also be asked to answer demographic questions such as race, age and gender.

How are exit surveys conducted?

According to Edison Research, the surveys are conducted using one of three methods. According to Edison Research, postal voters are reached by phone, email and text message.

For in-person early voters and Election Day voters, interviewers will be stationed outside polling stations to ask these survey questions in person. They also say that exit polls are anonymous because there is no way to attribute the answers to an exit poll to a specific person.

How many people are surveyed for exit surveys?

According to NBC News, the nationwide survey will include about 20,000 interviews, including in-person interviews on Election Day. Additionally, this total includes 1,500 to 2,500 respondents each in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

According to Edison Research, it managed to reach more than 100,000 voters in 2020, including 30,000 people by phone before Election Day.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a featured news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

What questions are asked for the exit survey?

How are exit surveys conducted?

How many people are surveyed for exit surveys?

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