To Survey or Not to Survey: The Use of Exit Polling as a Teaching Tool

245 I exit polling was a widely known, but mostly misunderstood tool of political science research, the presidential election of November 7, 2000 changed that. Exit polls have long been a controversial part of most presidential elections, with the question of whether or not to publicize poll results before the close of balloting heavily discussed among academics and pundits alike. In fact, a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ among the major television networks not to call the winner in a state before balloting in that state ended was violated on Election Day 2000. Since then, the major networks have once again agreed never to violate such an agreement, and “NBC says it will support a bill that would create a national poll-closing time” (Christian Science Monitor 2000). The exit polls conducted by the Voter News Service (VNS) on election day added one more question to the debate—should the results of exit polls be used to predict the winners of elections? As television viewers watched, exit polls initially predicted the victory of Al Gore in Florida; these predictions were then dismissed as early returns indicated a probable George W. Bush victory. A renewed debate on the utility of exit polls erupted in the popular press, and, no doubt, in political science classrooms in the weeks after the elections. These events have spurred a new interest in elections and, more specifically, in exit polls. Given this heightened interest in elections and exit polls, some political scientists might be tempted to have their students perform their own exit polls in order to bring the excitement of an election to their classes. Should one plan an exit poll as part of a political science course? Aside from the considerable amount of organizational planning required on the part of the instructor to facilitate an exit poll, such projects usually require an extra time commitment on top of the reading and study that students expect to devote to their political science course. Many students might be inclined to pass up such a course for this reason. With such organizational and educational hurdles, we then ask, just what are the benefits of an exit poll? From the pedagogical and experiential learning literature, advocates suggest that students would not only learn the course material better, but derive benefits extending past learning the course material. Critics of class surveys suggest that although these sorts of projects may help students understand the course material better, far reaching benefits are less likely. This study reports on students’ perceptions of class exit polls administered during the 2000 U.S. presidential election. Students at four different universities (California State University, Northridge; Tulane University; the University of Iowa, Iowa City and; the University of Wisconsin, Parkside), and in different types of political science classes (Research Methods, American Political Culture, Elections in America, Municipal Governments, and Introduction to American Politics), administered the same exit poll to registered voters on election day as part of their respective political science courses. Although the same exit poll was administered, using the same procedures, varying degrees of success were recorded. At California State University, Northridge, a large public university in Los Angeles, students closed the poll station early because a gang fight erupted across the street; a second station closed early because of the perception of imminent violence. All together, the student interviewers only collected 155 completed surveys. In contrast, at Tulane University, located in New Orleans, student interviewers collected over 1000 completed surveys and reported no problems. Students at the University of Iowa, Iowa City and the University of Wisconsin, Parkside, both smaller locales, each collected over 900 completed surveys. We were initially interested in understanding the difficulties students faced by participating in these exit polls, from location issues to problems administering the exit poll to voters. That is, were there differences in the exit polling experience due to the geographical location of the universities? This initial interest then broadened into understanding whether or not the students perceived a benefit from participating in the exit poll, despite polling difficulties. Thus, this article will address not only the challenges associated with undertaking a class exit poll, but also whether or not students perceive a benefit from having participated in one. At the close of the fall 2000 semester, students in these four political science courses were asked to complete a survey asking them about their participation in the class exit poll. The purpose of this survey was to assess not only what the students thought of the experience as it pertained to their class, but whether or not it affected their perceptions of the election, survey research, and political science in general. Given that the students who administered the election day exit polls were from different types of political science courses, in four different locations, it is also interesting to determine whether the benefits derived from the experience differed by type of course. With this in mind, it should become easier to answer the question, ‘to survey or not to survey . ’ when planning one’s course activities.