L.A. Times: Fox News calls exit polls unreliable

[Newsjock]

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-fox8nov08,1,1977918.story?coll=la-news-a_section

NEW YORK — ... This time, the National Election Pool — the consortium of five networks and the Associated Press that commissions the national exit polls — said it was hiring fewer college students in favor of professional interviewers to survey voters coming out of the polls, hoping to capture a more accurate sample of the electorate than two years ago. In that race, the exit polls showed Sen. John F. Kerry beating President Bush, largely because the surveys overrepresented Democratic voters.

At least one network said it happened again Tuesday.

In the middle of its election coverage, Fox News — one of the members of the consortium — announced that it was going to stop relying on the exit-poll data because its decision-desk analysts had discovered a Democratic bias of six to eight percentage points in many areas after comparing the survey results with the actual vote.

... None of the other networks echoed those concerns. Officials with Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International, the polling firms that administered the NEP surveys, could not be reached for comment.

[Catch22Dem]

1. Weren't the exit polls pretty much dead on? (n/t)

[Lucky Luciano]

2. yep...as they should be.

[w4rma]

6. I'd like to see a chart of exit polls broken down by precinct and voting method.

Compared to the official certified voting results.

[MiniMe]

30. I think they have the exit polls at CNN

[papau]

36. I suspect the 06 exit polls spot the GOP fraud that Fox has been told to hide

Indeed the 06 exit polls must spoylight the areas where fraud was planned/practice too well - so that Fox has been required to make this statement to provide cover.

[sugapablo]

37. Fuck Exit polls!

IMHO, There's something very un-American about people pestering you as you come out of the voting booth.

One of the fundamental rights and privileges each American has is the right to a SECRET ballot. Why would you give up that right, for no other purpose than to allow news agencies to have free data they can use to bolster their ratings, and hence, their profits?

When approached by exit pollers, I remind them of the value of secret ballots, and how important they are to a democratic republic. Once the curtain closes (although electronic machines here don't have the curtains, and I can easily see the person next to me voting (which is why I demand the booths next to me are empty when I vote)), it's just you and your vote.

Anyone who wants to know whom I voted for, can guess. :)

[rocktivity]

3. Rocknation Calls Fox News A Non-Entity

:evilgrin:
rocknation

[here_is_to_hope]

8. and RockNation is right! n/t

[meegbear]

15. Indeed ...

and :party: WELCOME ABOARD!! :party:

[rocktivity]

24. Welcome to DU, Here_is_to_hope

Hope you'll be joining us in kicking some '08 presidential election ass!

:hi:
rocknation

[VolcanoJen]

25. VolcanoJen concurs with Rocknation!

And further states that the Fox News guys are acting like Sore Losermen.

[indepat]

4. Indepat calls Fox News unreliable and a bunch of unprintable names

[Phredicles]

5. Still wondering, How come exit polls are only unreliable

in THIS country?

[dxdem]

7. dxdem calls Fox News every night, and just breathes heavily, saying nothing.

[reichstag911]

9. In reply,...

...exit pollsters call Fox unreliable, and tell 'em to suck ass!

[slackmaster]

10. Fox was so far behind the curve last night it wasn't even funny

While Claire McCaskill was giving her victory speech, Fox still had the race as "too close to call".

[KayLaw]

11. Except in VA and MT!

NT

[liberal N proud]

12. The FOX bias exposed

None of the other networks echoed those concerns... Hummmm?

[crossroads]

13. Right On! nt

[gratuitous]

14. Bias?

Then Fox should be able to point out exactly where the exit polls showed that Democratic bias of six to eight points. Curiously, the allegation is made, but there is no proof to back it up. Which makes Fox's allegation simply . . . an allegation and not a fact.

Although I'm sure Fox is greatly distressed by the actual polling results, and since they and their president and their party are infallible, the fault for those results must lie elsewhere. The exit polls!

[katty]

16. SCREW FAUX "NEWS"!!!!

[DainBramaged]

17. Dain Bramaged cals FAUX News brain damaged

[tabasco]

18. Yeah that's a big surprise.

They want Diebold to be considered infallible!

[MissMillie]

19. LOL Doesn't Fox's poll have Bush's approval ratings at 45%?

It's almost as though they never asked anyone outside of their own building about Bush....

[TexasLawyer]

20. The truth has a liberal bias. n/t

[AllexxisF1]

21. ...

Just for shits and giggles I tuned into Fox news to gloat a bit and what I saw what damn near hillarious.

For a supposed "fair and balanced" *cough* news *cough* organization they sure looked depressed last night.

They looked like they were watching a pony die that's how sad they looked LOL.

[damntexdem]

22. Faux found a 'Democratic bias of 6 to 8%?

Hey, thank you, Faux News! Now we know about how much the vote totals in those races were subjected to GOP fraud.

[bullimiami]

23. that 'democratic bias' is the telltale footprint of election fraud.

time to rid our country of all voting machines and upgrade back to registered paper ballots. they can use optical scan but they need accuracy audits and hand recounts need to be available.

[DuaneBidoux]

26. I agree with Fox...who needs exit polls when YOU GOT THE VOTE!

[KansDem]

27. KansDem calls Fox News irrelevant

FoxNews? :boring:

[GetTheRightVote]

28. I would like to see the exit poll information as well, they match for once

so how could they be wrong, hmmmm, Fox = republican, wonder why they would think they are not correct ???

:kick:

[daleo]

29. I think Fox is setting up for a right wing meme

Since the Republicans lost, Fox is setting up the meme for the future that the Republican vote was actually higher than it was. The right wing echo chamber may start up soon, if it hasn't already.

Transparent paper and pencil voting methods are needed. Perhaps U.S. federal elections should be de-coupled from state and local races, so that simpler methods can be used. In Canada, our federal elections only require marking one X, so paper and pencil can be used, and fraud is made much less likely. If U.S. federal elections were independent of other races, it would mean marking at most 3 Xs (house, senate, president), as far as I understand it. It might complicate life in some ways (need for another election day), but better that than untrustworthy elections.

[0rganism]

31. exit polls showed a six-to-eight point skew from the "actual vote"?

I think they got the "unreliable" part backwards -- it's the voting machines that aren't trustworthy.

[Anakin Skywalker]

32. I Got Two Words For Ya, F*x News!

**** It!

[Cobalt-60]

33. They didn't say they weren't Accurate

They said unreliable.
When your job is to cheer lead for the republicans, exit polls showing them getting their *sses kicked aren't a reliable means of accomplishing that end.

[JerseygirlCT]

34. A Democratic bias?

Yes, that would be the nation right now.

What was the phrase I heard so often in the last six years?

Get over it.

[SPKrazy]

38. Yes, They Need To Suck It Up, Get Over It!

Life ain't fair, wear a helmet!

[Joe Bacon]

35. Fox News? Isn't that an Oxymoron?

Wait a second, that's Rush, isn't it?