[20010123]RS20762_选举预测：第一修正案问题.pdf

Congressional Research Service ? The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS20762Updated January 23, 2001Election Projections: First Amendment Issuesname redactedLegislative AttorneyAmerican Law DivisionSummaryMedia projections may be based both on exit polls and on information acquired asto actual ballot counts. The First Amendment would generally preclude Congress fromprohibiting the media from interviewing voters after they exit the polls. It apparentlywould also preclude Congress from prohibiting the media from reporting the results ofthose polls. Congress, could, however, ban voter solicitation within a certain distancefrom a polling place, and might be able to include exit polling within such a ban. It alsomight be able to deny media access to ballot counts, either when the polls have notclosed in the jurisdiction whose votes are being counted, or when the polls have notclosed across the nation.When the media project the winner of an election before the polls close, some peoplewho otherwise had planned to vote might decide not to vote. If enough such peoplewould have voted against the projected winner, then their decision not to vot