From Straight Arrow · · 1m 20s
Can you trust tonight’s exit polls?
How exit polls work to explain election results without picking winners.
In brief
How exit polls work to explain election results without picking winners. Exit polls help explain election results by showing voter opinions but change as vote counts finalize. Originally reported by Straight Arrow.
Quick answers
- What is an exit poll?
- Exit polls ask voters how they voted and their views on parties and the country’s direction.
- How many voters are surveyed?
- SSRS surveys roughly 100,000 voters online or by phone before Election Day.
- Where are exit polls conducted?
- SSRS picks 30 polling places in each of 15 states with high Election Day turnout.
- How are responses collected?
- Interviewers approach every nth voter leaving to complete at least 50 questionnaires per location.
- How long does the survey take?
- The survey has 20 to 25 questions and takes most voters about five minutes.
What is an exit poll?
Exit polls ask voters how they voted and their views on parties and the country’s direction.
How many voters are surveyed?
SSRS surveys roughly 100,000 voters online or by phone before Election Day.
Where are exit polls conducted?
SSRS picks 30 polling places in each of 15 states with high Election Day turnout.
How are responses collected?
Interviewers approach every nth voter leaving to complete at least 50 questionnaires per location.
How long does the survey take?
The survey has 20 to 25 questions and takes most voters about five minutes.
How are results processed?
SSRS combines online and phone responses with paper surveys to create national and state-level data.
Why do numbers change?
SSRS adjusts results based on voter demographics to account for nonresponse bias.
How accurate are exit polls?
Nationally, SSRS expects a margin of error of about 0.6 percentage points in either direction.
What happens next?
Exit poll results will be adjusted after vote counts finalize to match actual results.
What matters most
Exit polls help explain election results by showing voter opinions but change as vote counts finalize.
