An exit poll is a survey of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. The purpose of exit polls is to gain an early indication of how an election has turned out, as in many elections the actual result may take hours to count. Exit polls are conducted by pollsters, usually private companies working for newspapers or broadcasters. Interviewers stand outside polling places at randomly selected precincts across the country and approach voters at specific intervals as they exit, for example every fifth or ninth voter. Voters who agree to participate fill out a short, confidential questionnaire and place it in a ballot box. The exit poll questionnaire asks who people voted for, their demographics, opinions about the candidates, and opinions on important issues. Exit polls are also used to collect demographic data about voters and to find out why they voted as they did. Political parties and candidates can use this information to strategize for future elections. Exit polls have historically and throughout the world been used as a check against, and rough indicator of, the degree of election fraud.