Voter News Service

Voter News Service (VNS), former American data collection and analysis service intended to aid in the reporting of exit-poll numbers during national elections. The consortium was created in 1990 by media companies ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, NBC, and the Associated Press under the direction of political scientist Murray Edelman.

In 2000 the VNS had difficulty in providing accurate information for the U.S. presidential election, particularly in the state of Florida. That led to inaccurate exit-polling reports and confusion about which candidate had won Florida. As reports continued to flip-flop between Democratic candidate Vice-Pres. Al Gore and Republican candidate Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the American public was unsure of who had won the presidency until several days passed and votes were recounted. Inaccurate data was only one problem for the VNS. There were complaints that the executives of the consortium had contact with—and personal ties to—the candidates, and early reports did not take into account time zones, particularly in the Florida panhandle, which was in a different time zone from the rest of the state.

After the 2000 election the VNS again attempted to serve the media during the 2002 midterm elections. Because of a computer glitch, the VNS did not deliver results from their data until 10 months after the election. In January 2003 the VNS was disbanded after the media partners determined that it provided inaccurate information. The service was replaced by the National Election Pool (NEP).