Society · Facts & sources
4 sourced facts about live and real-time polling — election-night exit polls and live TV voting, each with the context behind the number. 4 more are in today's round and appear here after it closes.
Answerover 110 million votes
Live phone-in voting turned TV talent shows into some of the largest informal 'polls' ever run.
Source: Wikipedia, American Idol (2024) en.wikipedia.org
Answerabout 7.5 million texts
By 2009, that number had exploded to about 178 million texts in a single season.
Source: Wikipedia, American Idol (2024) en.wikipedia.org
Answer20,000 voters
The early call, made while polls were still open in some states, sparked lasting debate about the impact of live election-night projections.
Source: Wikipedia, exit poll (2024) en.wikipedia.org
Answerpostal votes (~12% of ballots)
The live, in-person exit poll numbers looked solid on election night but didn't hold once later-arriving mail ballots were tallied.
Source: Wikipedia, exit poll (2016) en.wikipedia.org