Posted on 09/02/2006 10:07:50 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK - Warren Mitofsky, a survey researcher who pioneered the use of exit polls to cover elections and helped develop the sampling method used in most modern telephone polling, has died.
Mitofsky, who was 71, died Friday in New York City of an aortic aneurysm. Joe Lenski, Mitofsky's partner in exit polling for the last two national elections, confirmed his death Saturday.
Mitofsky started conducting exit polls in 1967 for CBS News and developed the projection system and analysis system used by CBS and later by a consortium of news organizations that conducted national exit polls.
"He was the father of exit polling," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. "And he pioneered exit polling overseas."
Exit polling surveys voters from a random sample of precincts after they have cast their ballots to quickly determine which candidates voters supported and why they voted the way they did.
With fellow researcher Joseph Waksberg, Mitofsky helped invent a way to sample households by telephone to efficiently reach people with unlisted as well as listed phone numbers. The random digit dial method now is a survey research standard. Waksberg died in January at age 90.
Mitofsky was known for his willingness to share his strong opinions. Many colleagues have experienced "the creativity, passion and dedication that he has brought to his work and have the scars to prove it," said Murray Edelman, a pollster and longtime co-worker.
Mitofsky directed the first network election pool, Voter Research & Surveys, in the 1990 and 1992 elections. In 1993, he founded Mitofsky International; its primary business was conducting exit polls in countries including Russia, Mexico and the Philippines.
Since 2003 Mitofsky International and Edison Media Research have conducted U.S. exit polls for The Associated Press and television networks.
Mitofsky's early survey work was for the U.S. Census Bureau, where he designed surveys that looked at poverty and other social concerns. He led several survey research organizations over his career, including as president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research and the National Council of Public Polls.
Mitofsky is survived by his sister, Lenore Leby, of Williamsport, N.Y.; his wife, Mia Mather of New York; two children, Bryan Mitofsky of Montpelier, Vt.; and Elisa Clancy of Hyde Park, Vt., and four grandchildren.
I wonder if anybody polled him before he checked out.
Yea Zogby did but like 04 he will wait til 5pm on election day and still get it wrong
The Dems just added another name to their voter registration rolls.
Rest in Peace. Nothing personal against the man, but this mania about exit polls has caused more problems than it's worth. For example, early skewed exit polls last time showed Kerry ahead. When the votes were all counted, Bush won. The moonbat crowd went berserk, because they thought the election was stolen because of how accurate these exit polls are supposed to be. The early exit polls were skewed, but facts like that don't matter to the moonbat crowd. We've raised a generation to think that public opinion polls are gospel, and that actual vote counting is an afterthought. And, if the actual vote count contradicts an exit poll, then the Republicans must have stolen an election. At least that's the moonbat logic, and you know what I'm talking about.
And we all remember Florida in 2000, which the networks called for Gore early on election night due to exit polls, then had to backtrack on their call.
I would love to just see then count votes, and let us wait a couple more hours on election night for actual results, like they had to do in the old days.
Yeah, exit polling is just a way for TV networks to be "the first" to get something. The first to get it wrong, more likely. It is harmful to the process, but what do they care?
Here's a link from Fox News on the skewed poll results if you haven't already seen it:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,137451,00.html
I'd say THIS was no loss!
RIP.
Zogby did an exit poll saying he would live. I bet Kerry goes after Ken Blackwell for this.
This is a switch. Instead of lying to a pollster...
Diebold's fault.
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