National Election Studies (NES)

The American National Election Studies (NES) are national surveys of voters in the United States that have been conducted by the University of Michigan before and after every presidential election since 1948. For midterm elections, the NES has conducted postelection studies since 1958. The NES has become the standard bearer for election studies. Indeed, international election studies have patterned their approach and question format after the NES. The popularity of the NES is due, in part, to its consistency. It has asked many of the same questions repeatedly since its inception. This has allowed researchers to develop innovative hypothesis testing through the examination of many variables, which has permitted analysis across people, contexts, and time.