We on FR are obsessed with politics. That's good. Someone needs to be. But I can tell you from talking to neighbors and friends that VERY few people either heard about these polls or in any way (whether Republican or Dem) would have ACTED on the information. The initial numbers coming out of Florida in 2000 were that 50,000 or more did not vote due to the "early call," but subsequent research has found that it was a small fraction of that. Bob Beckel, the Dem strategist, claimed that the "early call" of FL in 2000 cost Bush one million votes nationally, but no study has ever confirmed that.
My wife is adamant to say that no poll, ever, would change her mind as to whether to vote, and I think a large majority of Americans---even if they knew about the so-called exit polls---feel the same way.
B I N G O ! And God bless them, they are interested in other things like their families their jobs, recreation, church and sports teams. Politics? What's that?