Should exit polls be banned and do you think they can influence an election?

Answer 1

I think they should be banned for the simple reason,say that you have not voted yet and a certain canditate is very far ahead in the exit polls,then many people do not go out and vote,since that person will win anyway.

Answer 2

Not BANNED, but people really need to know more about what takes place during a poll.

It would be the ethical thing to do to give additional info about a poll when quoting the win%'s. Such as "180 people were polled, all who were registered voters and voted for bush's 2nd term". Adding these infos would help put in perspective the poll results.

Banning them, no, we have too many laws as it is.

Right now, the average "3 minutes a week on political issues" person hears... "Giuliani has 30% of the vote" and they take it at face value. They are oblivious to each other factor. And knowing how some people are, they will pick whoever is the most popular among the people (or promoted as the most popular among the polls)

Answer 3

Woodburner is correct. It as been observed many times that when exit polls are pushed by the media, voting falls off as the time for the polls to close gets closer. There should be a total election news blackout on election day, in order to nullify any media biases that may creep into the political process. So what if we have to wait until all the votes are counted? If you have a problem with that, I feel sad for America...

Answer 4

Exit polls are unreliable and yet kind of fun to watch during the election. Anyone who is swayed to vote for a different candidate because of them lacks the conviction to be voting in the first place.

Answer 5

It does indeed influence people going to the polls. The eastern US election results are published before the west. It the results are published before the polls close, then in can and has influenced people going to the polls in the west.

The problem, exit polls are protected by free speech.

It is the responsibility of the press to stop the nonsense.

The problem with that, people are addicted to instant gratification which translates into increased advertising revenue for the media.

Peace

Jim

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Answer 6

by actuality their heads are crammed with faith, booze, and arterial plaque. With apologies to Millard Filmore, Dubya is the worst excuse for a President the U. S. has ever been suckered into. cling on although; what with Foley ultimately being uncovered and the present Bob Woodward e book popping out, we are waiting to truly PRAY ( ha ha) that Dubya will make rapidly make like difficult Dick, grant the V for victory sign, declare " i'm now no longer a criminal" and bypass away on Air tension One together with his tail between his legs. A consummation devoutly to be wanted!

Answer 7

Yes they should be banned. They are unregulated and sway the vote by making people think either they shouldn't bother to go out because the election's been decided or that they should vote for the "winner".

Answer 8

Polls are generally useless.

I don't think that they influence an election because people generally do not see these polls until the polling places are closed.

Answer 9

Exit polls are taken AFTER the ballot's been cast (hence the name) so they can't influence how you would vote.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_poll

I generally wouldn't trust them since you'd have to assume that the person was telling you who they really voted for. Maybe i'm too cynical.

Answer 10

Why ban exit polls???? Toughen up... If you don't like what they say, tell your friends to go vote on that day to change it.... How about getting rid of the electorial college.......