He said that aside from being a predictor, exit polls are equally valuable in helping analysts figure out why voters vote the way they do.
“We can look at a number of voting patterns and analyze, for example, the religion factor, the culture factor and moral values of voters to give us a clear picture of where they are coming from,” Schneider said.
The exit polls also had a palpable effect on the campaigns, something that was a surprise to many analysts.
“I’ve never seen it happen where it affected campaigns,” Schneider said. “Both Republicans and Democrats tried to use them to make last-minute campaign adjustments.”
In the future, said Schneider, the media will be even more wary of using exit polls.
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“Caution is the bottom line,” he said.