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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Liam Thorp

What is a General Election exit poll and when will it be revealed?

There are many political terms you will have heard being bandied around as the General Election draws ever closer - and exit poll will certainly be one of them.

So what is an exit poll, how important is it and when will we know its results in the 2019 General Election.

What is an exit poll?

Exit polls are based on interviews conducted with voters as they leave polling stations after casting their votes.

They aim to give a strong indication of how the overall General Election result will play out.

Exit polls are usually announced at around 10pm - as soon as the polls have closed.

When will we get this one?

As has been the case in the previous three elections, the main broadcasters of the BBC, SKY and ITV will join together to produce and announce one single exit poll n Thursday.

This will be revealed on all of their channels at 10pm when polls close.

Theresa May's hung parliament was predicted in the 2017 exit poll (Getty Images)

This data will be released following tens of thousands of interviews conducted by research specialists Ipsos Mori at 144 polling stations across the country.

How accurate and important is an exit poll?

For recent elections, the exit polls have been fairly accurate.

The margin of error in terms of predicted seats is thought to be around 20.

In 2017 the poll correctly predicted a hung parliament - although the estimate of 314 Tory seats was three seats off the total they won.

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