I wrote quite a bit about exit polls after the 2004 elections, and have learned quite a bit in the process. However for those looking for general information about how exit polls are conducted, my Election Day summary of "what you need to know" about exit polls is a good place to start.
For those looking for a recent and comprehensive review of the issues raised by those who claim that the 2004 exit polls provide some evidence of a stolen election, see my three part series reviewing the Rolling Stone article by Robert Kennedy, Jr. that asked, "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?:"
Here is the complete list of frequently asked questions, though please note that most of these posts were written in November and December of 2004, before note that I wrote most of these before the release of a report by the exit pollsters, Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International, in January 2005 that provided much additional information on many of these questions.
- What is the difference between "partial" and "final" exit polls? Covers which tabulations were "corrected" to match the actual count and which were not.
- Where can I find the "uncorrected," just-before-poll closing exit poll tabulations?
- Where can I find official methodological information about exit polls?
- What is the margin of error for exit polls?
- Were the exit polls really "wrong?"
- Why were exit polls in Germany & Utah so accurate?
- Have the exit polls been wrong before?
- If not random error, why were they "wrong?"
- So if exit polls have so much error, why do them?
- I heard the exit poll estimates for Hispanic voters have been revised -- is that true?
- What is MP's reaction to the paper, "The Unexplained Exit Poll Discrepancy," by Steven Freeman? (This post dicusses his first draft at length, this post has Freeman's response).
You can also see a summary of all the posts on exit polls on Pollster.com here and on Mystery Pollster here.
