Call me old-fashioned, but ...

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Mon Jan 13, 2003 5:10 pm

The major television networks and the Associated Press decided Monday to dissolve the Voter News Service exit poll consortium but have not yet reached agreement on a replacement plan to survey voters on election day. (Washington Post)<p>***Voters are "surveyed" when they cast their ballots. Here's an idea: Let's report vote totals when they are "counted" and leave the polling to political campaigns and advertising agencies.***

Guest · **Posted:** Mon Jan 13, 2003 5:15 pm

With 0 percent of the vote in, I project that blanp's proposal is an excellent one. Exit polls do nothing but taint elections and make accurate, timely reporting more difficult.

Powderhorn · **Posted:** Tue Jan 14, 2003 1:11 am

I can't see how exit polls are of any relevance to newspapers to begin with. By the time the presses roll, we should have an accurate count of actual votes (if only to 98 percent of precincts reporting). In situations such as the 2000 presidential election, this is of course a hopeless ideal, but such exceptions are just that.<p>Exit polls are merely a way for the 6 p.m. news folks to have something to say, since they can't possibly have an actual story yet.<p>By election day, the actual votes are all that matter -- conjecture is only useful until the polls open.

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Call me old-fashioned, but ...

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