AP VoteCast

AP VoteCast was a survey of American voters and nonvoters[1][2] administered by NORC at the University of Chicago originally for media networks The Associated Press (AP) and Fox News (referred to by the network as the Fox News Voter Analysis.) [2] The survey was created by Fox, the AP and NORC[3][4] as a new way to survey voters and would additionally be used in later elections by outlets including NPR, PBS NewsHour, Univision News, the USA Today Network, and the Wall Street Journal[5][6].

VoteCast was first used in the 2018 midterm elections. The AP, NORC and Fox tested the new approach for the 2017 gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, as well as the Senate election in Alabama. [3][4] Prior to AP VoteCast, the original methodology of exit polls involved conducting in-person interviews as voters left the polls. AP VoteCast's methodology attempted to account for the increasing number of vote-by-mail voters, by moving away from in-person only exit polls.[7] The project intended to improve the reliability of data and overcome exit poll biases.[8] The survey used online and telephone interviews to reach voters.[9]

The AP and Fox News formerly were part of the National Election Pool, but have not collaborated on polling for presidential or midterm elections since 2016.[10] Following SSRS's 2025 acquisition of Edison Research[11], the networks that make up the National Election Pool joined the AP and Fox to survey voters for the elections held that year.[12][13] The Voter Poll by SSRS will also be used to survey voters during the 2026 elections. [14][15]

References

  1. AP announces debut of new Election Day survey Associated Press, May 15, 2018, retrieved January 15, 2026^
  2. Fox News Voter Analysis launching to give new insights into midterm results on Election Day Fox News, November 1, 2018^
  3. Domenico Montanaro. Election Night Shakeup: Here Come The New 'Exit' Polls NPR, May 21, 2018, retrieved January 15, 2026^
  4. Nicole Meir. Beyond exit polls: A new way to survey voters May 14, 2018, retrieved January 15, 2026^
  5. AP VoteCast 2020 NORC at the University of Chicago, May 2021, retrieved January 15, 2026^
  6. 2024 General Election Methodology apnorc.org, March 2025, retrieved January 15, 2026^
  7. https://apnorc.org/projects/ap-votecast/^
  8. AP VoteCast Associated Press, retrieved November 15, 2020^
  9. Linley Sanders, Robert Yoon. How AP VoteCast works, and how it’s different from an exit poll Associated Press, October 8, 2024, retrieved March 3, 2026^
  10. Steven Shepard. Is this the beginning of the end of the exit poll? Politico, 9 December 2017^
  11. SSRS Welcomes Edison Research in Acquisition to Expand Election and Media Research Offerings SSRS, October 15, 2025, retrieved January 15, 2026^
  12. National News Networks Rely on The Voter Poll by SSRS for 2025 General Election Coverage SSRS, November 5, 2025, retrieved March 21, 2026^
  13. Jennifer Agiesta. What to know about exit polls and how they've changed for this year's elections CNN, November 3, 2025, retrieved January 15, 2026^
  14. Joe Lenski, Kristen Conrad. State Level Findings from the 2025 Voter Polls SSRS, December 15, 2025, retrieved February 23, 2026^
  15. Karlyn Bowman. Election Polls: Their Past, Present, and Future American Enterprise Institute, November 10, 2025, retrieved February 23, 2026^