Vote Shafer! Vote Early! Vote Often!

Chatterbox stands shoulder to shoulder with his colleague Jack “Press Box” Shafer on the absurdity of news organizations’ withholding exit poll data until after the polls close. So, apparently, does Jim Romenesko’s Media News, the indispensable media-gossip portal formerly known as MediaGossip.com. At this writing, the Romenesko site is conducting an online poll about whether it’s OK to publicize exit poll information while the voting is still going on. And guess what? Romenesko is posting the ongoing tally! This is, of course, just like releasing exit poll results before the voting stops! Right now (3:15 EST), the Shaferite pro-publicize forces are losing, 48 percent to 52 percent, to the witless goo-goo don’t-publicize forces. (This is based on 61 votes–a much flimsier sample, incidentally, than you’ll get in any reputable exit poll.) But are we Shaferites so discouraged by this information that we’ve given up voting? Hell no! We’re calling our friends and getting out the vote! We can still win this thing!