Need for 'Untouchable Exit Polls' for future elections

[Kansas Wyatt]

Is there any way that 'We The People' can organize and/or implement exit polls for future elections that have no connections to the government or any establishment, to guarantee accurate elections?

Would there be a way to get funding for this, without strings attached for completely unbiased exit polls?

The reason I ask, is that in past elections, exit pollsters probably have been leaned on to match the "official" results, which taints a guarantee for accuracy and ruins arguments to protest a fixed election or election fraud. It seems that we are in need of exit polls to give an absolute accurate as possible accounting of how people voted to ensure the quality of our elections, without any influence from the government and establishment, to fall in line with the "official" claim.

[Atman]

1. I've often wondered the same thing...

Why do exit polls have to be conducted by the same consortium of media outlets? Why not Quinnipaic University, which is so good at polling and already has the structure in place? Or any major university in any state?

It's come to the point where we're not only allowing the GOP to steal the elections, we're allowing them to run the polling that says they didn't steal 'em, too. It's totally broken system!

[Stephanie]

2. they did it in Yugoslavia

and when the polls didn't match the vote they called a national strike.

[Bacchus39]

3. exit polls are accurate???

aren't exit polls just a survey of people who tell who they voted for AFTER they already voted. they can tell you anything, it doesn't mean they actually voted for the person they say they voted for.

[CJCRANE]

8. They're a lot more accurate

than normal polls precisely because they ask people who have actually voted (not people who could or might vote). Thus the margin of error is much smaller than normal opinion polls. Exit polls are generally used (successfully) to monitor for election fraud in developing countries.

[Bacchus39]

10. fine, but it is no substitute for an accurate count of the actual vote

I can refuse to participate in the exit poll and I can lie as well. so its not going to be perfect correlation with the actual vote.

[goclark]

14. Why would I want to lie?

I would like to see it done anyway.


I would have been delighted to tell anyone that I just voted for Clinton, Gore or Kerry.

I have worked the polls for the last two elections and from the feeling that I got, there were very few that would not have gladly told me who they voted for ~ Republican or Democrat.

Can't we have a margin of error?
We MUST do something!

[Sammy Pepys]

4. Just organize

Get a clipboard, stand outside the polling place, and do it that way. Asking for funding, especially from the government, is asking for trouble. If it's a matter of sheer numbers and not actually tallying answers that's even easier.

I don't know that exit polling is the best insurance for accurate elections though. I've never answered an exit pollster truthfully.

[goclark]

15. Why wouldn't you answer truthfully?

Were you not proud of who you voted for?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

5. It doesn't matter as long is this bunch is in power. They'll simply deny

the validity of the exit polls. They already did as much with 2004.

Exit polls will only help America if there is BINDING LEGISLATION giving them a role in the process, mandating recounts or revotes in the event of discrepancy beyond a certain amounts, and the polling administered by some agreed upon outside entity.

[Bacchus39]

7. that's ridiculous

again, people can say anything about the person or issue they say they voted for after they actually voted. Exit polls will never be as "accurate" as the actual vote.


the only way to get an accurate approximation of the actual vote would be to take a sample of the actual vote.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

12. The only real solution is not exit polls, but as you said, to have an

audit of the vote.

Example: If we use computer voting, each vote generates a paper ballot that the voter inspects and is put into locked ballot box.

A certain, mandated, random percentage of polling sites are surprise audited, count of all paper ballots checked against the reported vote.

If discrepancies beyond some legally mandated amount occur, full recount or revote must occur. This must be mandated by legislation. Furthermore, an outside body must be agreed upon to do the auditing and the audits must be binding.

Of course to do this would be to acknowledge we have a serious problem with the integrity of the vote in America. I'm not seeing such an acknowledgement, in mainstream media.

[Norquist Nemesis]

6. I'm willing to buy two or three reams of paper

and sit at a table outside of my polling place. I'll even pitch in for an opaque plastic container with a hole cut in the cover exactly like the one's we've seen used for voting in Iraq and Afghanistan! I also have no problem footing the cost for copies of the ballot.

Then, while sitting outside the polling place, asking people to secure a verified vote initiative by recording their choices and dropping it into the box. Explaining that the action will verify without a doubt whether the electronic machines they just voted on accurately counted their vote.

However, I have no doubt that the church where I vote would call the sheriff and have me booted off the property. :(

[Kansas Wyatt]

11. The church being a polling place is another problem

Years ago it made sense, since it was usually a building of community gathering, without many other buildings that everyone in the community had access to.

Today, we have schools and local government buildings that could be used, instead of places where religious groups have motives to tamper and defraud.

[Norquist Nemesis]

13. Oh, they use the schools here too

Within walking distance of my polling place, a school is used. In the 2004 election, the school housed TWO polling places and voters had to make certain when voting that they were in the 'correct' line. BTW, one of those went for Kerry. (GOP stronghold around here. :( )

http://eh.robis.net/uploads/JID37_2004_11_results_Naperville.pdf

[goclark]

9. Yea! K and R

What are the requirements for an exit pollster?

I have said since the last selection that I wanted to get certified.

In my opinion, especially in Urban/Minority areas, there should be someone that is willing to have all voters that wish to,sign a document, when they exit, that says WHO they voted for ~

I sure would be willing to sign!

I also believe if we could have a roving "POLLSTER BRIGADE" that would roll up and scare the hell out of the Blackwells that want to mess with those votes!

Don't flame me, just putting a wild idea out there!