VNS abandons national exit poll operation, a setback for revamped elections system

Associated Press ^ | 11-5-02 | DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

[Oldeconomybuyer]

14:38 PST NEW YORK (AP) -- Its operation riddled with errors, Voter News Service abandoned its state and national exit poll plans for Election Night, depriving media organizations of information to help analyze the vote.

The decision did not affect VNS' separate operation for counting the actual vote. VNS also hoped to have limited information from the exit poll surveys to give its members guidance in projecting winners for individual races.

[Robert_Paulson2]

The media is attempting to provide "cover" for massive democratic voter fraud. The game is afoot.

Should be interesting.

It will also help them face the stages of grief more quickly... by getting to the "denial phase" before the loss even occurs.

heh heh...

[Asclepius]

... Still, it was a major setback for VNS -- a consortium consisting of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox and The Associated Press. VNS had completely rebuilt its system in response to the 2000 election, when television networks twice used its information to make wrong calls in the decisive Florida vote for the presidential election ...

Doubtless the result of Republican voter intimidation.

[randita]

Well, looks like we'll be up all night waiting for the actual votes to be counted. Coffee's set to brew and snacks are plentiful. Let's hope it's a really good "SHEW".

[goldstategop]

For sure that means the exit polls showing a Dole and Hutchinson loss in NC and ARK are dead wrong. I have a feeling it will be a short night though and the GOP will clean house. Oh President Bush must be waiting like the rest of us to find out how big this is going to be. Call it a reverse Bubba effect if it all goes like I think it will.

[copycat]

The media is attempting to provide "cover" for massive democratic voter fraud. The game is afoot.

Agreed. Polls were trending R without the usual after-work R surge.

[AmishDude]

Well, I don't know about Hutchinson, but the Dole numbers make no sense and the Allard race should be closer than it is. I'd loooooove to know what happened to lead VNS to this conclusion.

[Billthedrill]

Look at it this way - those "Dewey Defeats Truman" newspapers are worth a LOT of money these days...

[colorado tanker]

Oh, I really, really hope you're right.

[skeeter]

when television networks twice used its information to make wrong calls in the decisive Florida vote for the presidential election.

Twice? These idiots aren't smart enough to bring us the news.

[cyncooper]

LOL

I won't wring my hands yet!

[Wolfstar]

CAUTION: Tony Snow was on the Hannity radio program about a half hour ago (about 2:15pm Pacific) saying VNS is advising the news media to not release any of their numbers, and to not believe them because the numbers are so unreliable. About a third of their precincts were not reporting correctly or at all. Hannity said that means any numbers put out by Drudge are wrong also since they come from VNS.

[Tacis]

This doesn't make sense. There is nothing they learned today that could not have been hypothesized in last month's planning/strategy sessions. The media bias, of course, is anti-American, pro-demacrat. So, this move is to damage Republicans or not hurt liberals.

What could have happened? Republicans, as they left the polls, knowing that anyone asking a question would not accurately report answers or was obviously an America-hating democrat? But, VNS would simply have faked the answers and reported what they wanted, anyway.

How could concealed info help the dems or not hurt the good guys? Are California voters so impressionable that, if they knew the good guys were winning in the East, they'd vote for the good guys instead of the thieves? VNS wouldn't report the dem voter fraud, they'd fudge the info they collected aynway and later, if caught, say they'd made a mistake.

No VNS exit polling results doesn't make sense.

[MCH]

Call it a reverse Bubba effect if it all goes like I think it will.

When it's all said & done, I want to see the results tallied for the locations where Klintoon made a big/visible show of support for a fellow Democrook during the campaign. Should be interesting.

[eureka!]

"VNS had completely rebuilt its system in response to the 2000 election"

Yeah right. What was "rebuilt"? Nothing. Just the method of projecting. This smells to high heavens, i.e., maybe 1994 again and the Clymers don't want to depress the Western Rat voters with the news of a GOP Tsunami. I hope. ;^)

[Route66]

"VNS is advising the news media to
not release any of their numbers, and to not believe them because the numbers are so unreliable."

The only 'reliable' numbers are the ones that show the Dems winning.
I prefer to translate the above statement as:
'The republicans are whooping our a** and we don't want California to know.'

[aristeides]

News of a Republican landslide in the East means a depressed Democratic turnout in the West. That's how Al Ullman and other Democrats lost in 1980.

[Robert_Paulson2]

Translation:

Republican Blowout.

I wonder:
prominent dem arkancides start tomorrow?

[skeeter]

How could concealed info help the dems or not hurt the good guys?

I do not believe VNS could get away with boldfaced lies. They use more subtle tactics.

Tactics that were not working this time because the early returns were showing an unusual early GOP trend. Unusual because democrats historically tend to do well early on, and unusual due to this being a midterm election with a GOP sitting president. Continuing to report on the returns would create a snowball effect, which the media cabal wished to avoid.

Tomorrow we'll find out if this is all wishful thinking.

[Robert_Paulson2]

Liberal democratic media attempt at damage control, while they discuss: "how can we spin this?"

Basis for lawsuits against republicans somehow?

dirty pool time.
what a hoot.