By Cliff Lewis
In the May 19 New Era article, “Early voters favor lifting alcohol ban,” the publication went ahead and published premature exit polling results from West Lampeter Township in the afternoon edition. The article was posted online around 11 a.m., with over nine hours left for citizens to cast their ballots. The article described the New Era‘s polling procedure: “The survey was conducted by four reporters in the first couple hours of voting. It is only a snapshot of early voting activity, but it has proven in past years to be a reliable indicator of voter preferences.”
This past fall, NewsLanc had contended for the New Era to discontinue this practice, given its potential to sway public opinion and obstruct a free voting process. Nevertheless, the practice will soon come to an end for other reasons: After this summer, the New Era will have merged with the Intelligencer Journal, no longer printing an afternoon edition.
