Free Republic

Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio - Exit polling can be conducted within 100 feet of a polling place on Election Day, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson's ruling on Monday night overturned an October directive by Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell to prohibit exit polling within 100 feet of precincts. Five television networks - ABC, CNN, CBS, Fox News and NBC - and The Associated Press had sued on Monday, seeking a temporary order to block Blackwell's directive that limited the exit-poll surveys, even though there had been no prior problems. "Polling activities such as these...

NEW YORK (AP) - With two weeks to go until Election Day, Voter News Service is testing its new exit polling and vote-counting system, while its members are cautiously crafting backup plans, mindful of problems they encountered two years ago. The latest test run over the weekend by VNS with its six media members — ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox and The Associated Press — made its executive director "cautiously optimistic." Still, the new system and fresh memories of botched calls on election night 2000 are likely to make news organizations more restrained in their pronouncements on Nov. 5. That...