Storyline · entertainment · 2 reports from 2 newsrooms

Exit polls and election‑night coverage

First reported Nov 2, 10:20 AM ET · Latest Nov 3, 5:00 AM ET · Explainer updated Nov 3, 6:00 AM ET

Where things stand

NBC News explains how exit polls are conducted and used to give an early picture of voter behavior before official vote tallies are released, NBC News reports.

Continuum

Facts

Facts appear here as Relay matches them to the reports.

Timeline

What changed: NBC News’ election‑night team, led by Tom Llamas, plans to work through the night with coffee as precincts, counties and states report results that could affect control of Congress, Variety reports.

Every report, newest first

  1. NBC News Exit Poll: How it works and how we use the results on election night — NBC News

    Before votes are tallied on election night, exit polls offer an early look at who is voting and what is motivating their choices.

  2. Inside NBC News’ Bid to Break Out From Election-Night Pack — Variety

    Tom Llamas says that on Election Night, he’ll stay up late by sipping espresso that he takes the same way he likes his news — without sugar. Hard facts are likely to surface quickly as different precincts, counties and states tabulate their votes in an…

Questions

  • The reports do not reveal how accurate the exit polls are expected to be for this election or what specific trends they may show. Open

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More: background

Exit polls are surveys taken of voters as they leave polling places, intended to gauge who voted and why. Networks use the data to project outcomes and analyze trends while official counts are still being completed.

How this works: stories from different newsrooms are grouped by topic, then AI writes the explainer using only those reports. It may miss context the reports don't include.