Elections & terms
exit poll
A survey of voters as they leave polling places, used to describe who voted and why. Increasingly unreliable as more people vote before election day.
In full
Exit polls were designed for an electorate that voted in person on one day. With early and mail voting now widespread, they must be supplemented by telephone and online surveys of early voters, and the resulting estimates are adjusted as actual results come in. Early exit poll numbers are among the least reliable figures published on election night.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.