Exit polls are changing because the way Americans vote has changed. PBS News took a closer look on Election Day at how news organizations now try to learn who voted and why.
This year, PBS is relying on The AP Voter Poll. It is a new collaboration between The Associated Press and other news outlets, including broadcast networks, that surveys voters by phone, online and in person. David Scott, the AP's vice president of election services, explained how it works in an interview with correspondent Deema Zein.
Scott said the goal is to "reach voters where they are." Most Americans now vote before Election Day. So the survey team checks voter files to see who has already cast a ballot, then contacts those people online, by mail or by phone to ask how they voted and why.
Part of the effort is still a traditional exit poll. Scott said thousands of interviewers would be working across all 50 states on Election Day, talking with people as they leave their polling places. Combining the two approaches is meant to capture the whole electorate, no matter how people vote.
The scale is large. A typical statewide political poll might be based on about 500 interviews, Scott said. The AP and its partners are aiming for 80,000 to 100,000 interviews before and on Election Day. That allows results for every state with a statewide race, not only the battlegrounds.
Analysts use the data to see which issues mattered most and how the voters who showed up compare with the makeup of each state. Scott said similar data in 2024 showed early in the night that Trump was poised to do well, because demographic shifts were visible in who was voting.
Early results from this year's survey found the economy was the top issue for about 4 in 10 voters.
Sources: PBS News, The Associated Press