Charleston Exit Poll Technical Report – by Shiro Kuriwaki and Shun Yamaya
To study the choices voters make between various federal, state, and local electoral contests, we conducted an in-person exit poll (n = 845) during the November 2018 midterm elections in Charleston County, South Carolina. This report describes our implementation and the main findings from the poll. The election turned out to be historic in several ways. In Congress, Joe Cunningham became the first Democrat to be elected to its first Congressional District since 1980. The election recorded the highest midterm turnout in the history of both South Carolina and Charleston County. Our poll also recorded voter’s choices for Governor, State House, County Council, Probate Judge, and the Public Service Commission, as well as their views on potentially cross-cutting partisan issues. The poll shows an electorate that is mixed in their partisan identity and ideology, relatively highly educated, and largely disapproving of Donald Trump. For the most part, voters were opposed to offshore drilling, moderately supportive of extended highway construction, and supportive of some tax increases to fund public infrastructure.
Shiro Kuriwaki is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Government, Harvard University (www. shirokuriwaki.com, kuriwaki@g.harvard.edu). Shun Yamaya is an undergraduate student at the Department of Politics, Princeton University (syamaya@princeton.edu).