Exit and Entrance Polling

Abstract

We report the results of an experiment in which voters participating in the 2008 presidential election were surveyed either as they exited their voting places (a traditional exit poll) or as they waited in line to vote (an “entrance poll”). To the best of our knowledge, the efficacy of entrance polling has not been studied previously. Our data show that the entrance poll, when compared to the exit poll, produced a significantly higher cooperation rate among voters and a significantly lower item nonresponse rate. In our discussion of these results, we examine the benefits and potential complications of entrance polling.