URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Spring_2016_Melissa-McCarthy

“Exit polls open the door to us having a less mythical political discussion, and of course, in a democracy, that’s the whole point.” - Brian Krueger

“Before the consortiums, the myriad of exit polls conducted by the different news outlets were designed independent of each other,” Krueger says. “The result, when combined, was a jumbled, disorganized, scattered mess of this valuable historical information that had no continuity to give it meaning.” Krueger’s work organized and recoded the disorganized data so that it can be academically analyzed and historically comparable, two purposes never intended for these exit polls. Krueger’s and Best’s project sought to take advantage of a key benefit of exit polls. “The sample size is large enough to provide a very detailed, nuanced analysis of many different demographics across the U.S.,” Krueger says. By identifying questions, and comparing and contrasting different surveys, Exit Polls allows readers insight into American politics, in some cases contradicting what the media often portray as fact. “There are a lot of myths about voters and elections in American politics,” Krueger says.

A common myth Krueger found perpetuated by the media is that lower-income whites, relative to higher-income whites, tend to vote more Republican. This is dispelled by exit poll data, which shows that during the past few decades low- income whites generally give a higher percentage vote to Democrats than high-income whites. High-quality information from exit polls can help unlock myths like this and change the storyline perceived by the American public, which can lead to further understanding as to why, for example, low-income whites are more connected to the Democratic Party, as well as explain support – or lack thereof – for Social Security, universal health care, or unemployment insurance. “Another myth might be that presidential candidates need to win independent voters to win the White House,” Krueger says. “There is enormous focus on independent voters prior to elections by the media. But in the last election independents preferred Romney to Obama 50 to 45 percent.” According to Krueger, to be literate and informed is to not only ask what polls mean and find out their uses, but also to ask: What are their limitations? When should we pay attention to them in the election cycle? When should we

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