Rawstory: Rep. John Conyers Seeks NEP Exit Poll Da

Source:
http://rawstory.rawprint.com/1204/conyers_exit_polls_1221.php

The following letter, issued by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich), calls on the five major television networks and the Associated Press to release the raw exit poll data from the 2004 presidential election. The letter below, acquired by RAW STORY late this afternoon, is a facsimile; the congressman's office said an actual image of the letter will not be released until Wednesday.

The letter was sent to: Anne Sweeney, Co-Chairman, Media Networks, The Walt Disney Company and President, Disney-ABC Television Group; Bob Wright, President, NBC; Gail Berman, President, FOX; Jim Walton President, CNN; Thomas Curley, President, Associated Press; and Andrew Heyward, President, CBS.

"As you are aware, the American citizenry has voiced a collective lack of faith in government to carry out fair election procedures," Conyers writes. "It is important that the Judiciary Committee access raw voter poll data so that discrepancies between those numbers and certified election results can be investigated...Without the raw data, the Committee will be severely handicapped in its efforts to show the need for serious election reform in the United States."

I write to request the raw exit poll data from the 2004 November presidential election that you purchased from Mitofsky International and Edison Media Research. I have requested this data from Mitofsky International and Edison Media directly; however those companies claim a proprietary interest in voter tallies, and I have not been able to persuade them to share this information with the Judiciary Committee.

As you are aware, the American citizenry has voiced a collective lack of faith in government to carry out fair election procedures. It is important that the Judiciary Committee access raw voter poll data so that discrepancies between those numbers and certified election results can be investigated. The data may eveidence instances of voting irregularities that occurred as the result of poor election practices and intentional voter disenfranchisement. Without the raw data, the Committee will be severely handicapped in its efforts to show the need for serious election reform in the United States.

For these reasons, I ask that you share this information with the Committee. We are happy to honour any confidentiality restrictions you may need to place on this data. Thankyou for your attention to this matter. If you would like to discuss this further please contact Perry Apelbaum or Ted Kao of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff at (202) 225-6504.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member
House Committee on the Judiciary

Cc: Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.