Have you been exit polled?

[BlossomToLeaves]

I've never been.

I've just been looking it up, and it's only about 130-150 polling stations across the country, and they are chosen to be a good mix of demographics; it seems to be getting more accurate over the years. They use the same stations mostly, as it helps adjust the algorithms when they compare how they did to the results. I don't know where the stations they use are, though.

Apparently you get asked to fill in a replica ballot and to post it in a ballot box, to try to get the most accurate results possible. I guess they must be counting them all day though to be able to crunch the numbers and make an announcement right at 10!

I wonder if most people would take part when asked. I would, as I'm not rushed for time.

I guess there are likely also other less official exit polls as well, where various outlets can ask people if they want. I don't think I've been asked in this way, either.

I saw an interview with John Curtice yesterday where he said they usually have a good idea of the result by 2pm.

Curse my lack of maths and statistics ability! That would be such a cool job.

I've voted in a fair few elections, at different locations in greater London and the south east. I have never been exit polled.

Maybe I'm being stupid but I'd always imagined it was just someone who asked you how you'd voted as you came out of the front gates of the polling station! I find it quite interesting that you fill in a separate and anonymised ballot.

Yes that's what I'd always assumed too, and I thought it would be much larger numbers polled and across a lot more stations. But apparently not!

I'm expect there are lots of unofficial ones like that, though, if it's allowed.

That's what I thought it was too! I have often been asked on my way out if I minded saying who I voted for. I thought that made up the exit polls. I learnt something new today!

Also thought exit polls were where you get asked on the way out who you'd voted for - had no idea you filled in a replica!

We're in Northern Ireland and don't have exit polls. I always wondered how they did them.

Never, I grew up coastal SE, then London relatively central, Birmingham inner city and one of the worst postcodes in the country, Nottingham suburbs, rural Derbyshire.

You've often been asked? I've never been asked and voted in a range of constituencies. Feeling quite put out now. Find that 10:00 exit poll announcement so nerve-wracking but exciting. Not sure 2017 can be beaten for shock value for a while. Hope I'm not going to eat my words later 😰😬

Its most likely party activists asking you who you voted for, so they don’t waste time knocking on your door later to try to get your vote.

Widowvipiper is right. I asked last time (the people at the front door) and they explained they are volunteers for the parties and are monitoring who votes. I now don't give my info to them because it's none of their bloody business and I don't want spam political letters coming up to the next election because they know I turn up to vote.

@SwedishEdith @WindowViper Yes, most times I've voted there's been 2 or 3 milling around outside the polling station with clipboard and approach with "excuse me madam, do you mind telling me which candidate you voted for?" I always tell them that that remains between me and the ballot paper!

They do have large rosettes in red/blue/yellow so agree, they are likely party activists trying to get a heads up!

We'll see who is there later when I go to vote and I might ask them why they want to know. And what would they do with that information.

Given that exit polls are counted secretly, and that it's prohibited from reporting anything about the election all day, and that people are prepared to do election related jobs for 18 hour stretches without leaving the polling stations etc, you wonder why they couldn't also have the real counts going on all afternoon - it would have to be private, yes, but with a good number of independent (as well as party) observers to make it trustworthy, no reporting, people sequestered for the entire count etc, so that by 10pm, there are only the last couple of hours worth of votes to count.

Weirdly, after saying I had never been asked, I was today by a clear party activist. They were only counting who had voted rather than who we were voting for.

yes I was asked my poll number by a teller, but not who I'd voted for. I think they share them with the other parties.

Never, in a safe Tory seat (although maybe not today!).

DD's BF was exit polled today, his borough is a seat that flits between Cons/LibDems.

There's a whole load of work goes into to refining the model for exit polling. Obviously they think very carefully before switching to a new polling station, so I've never been in one. But I know someone who works in it, it's fascinating. There's an episode of the podcast Understand the UK Election that goes into the modelling, if anyone is interested.

Obviously I've had tellers at every election. I think years ago I thought they were how exit polling was done too. I'm so glad I found out before I embarrassed myself (was quite heavily involved with politics at the time and it would have been a bit of a faux pas to confuse the two).

They don't select marginals as such, they very carefully select a representative section across the board.

Yes, when I was 18. I was asked but my mum wasn’t. It was the end of the day and they said they only wanted info from under 25s. I thought it was interesting as I thought they just asked everyone!!

It was in a very safe Labour seat I was asked. When I said I voted Labour the poller said well done! Haha

The official exit poll does cover NI as well as the rest of the UK, you might be thinking of tellers.

But the exit poll happens at less than 0.1% of polling stations, so it's vanishingly unlikely that any of us will have ever lived in one of those wards. You'd have to have moved address over 65,500 times to give yourself a 50/50 chance of living in an exit poll ward.

I worked on the Exit Poll yesterday, it’s an amazing experience and mammoth effort. Genuinely just in awe each time we do it!

I have been in the past, and I find it highly annoying and intrusive! There werent any this time though. North London

Can I ask why you find it annoying? If you refuse then you just refuse, no?

I've never been part of one but saw a guy in Wetherspoons yesterday with an Ipsos bag and he was charging up little black remote type things that DH thought were maybe how the votes were taken but we didn't want to bug the guy so we didn't ask him about it.