Close polls, likely legal challenges: How TV networks will handle another election week
As someone who has witnessed the tumultuous political landscape for decades, I find it reassuring to see news organizations taking strides towards transparency and accountability during this election cycle. The decision by CBS News and NewsNation to give viewers an inside look at their vote counting processes is a bold move that will undoubtedly foster trust and confidence among the public.
Since network television began broadcasting presidential election nights in 1948, there have only been two instances where the results took longer than a day to be announced.
2000 marked the year when the nation experienced a pause lasting five weeks, as the United States Supreme Court intervened to stop the vote recounts in Florida. This decision ultimately granted the presidency to George W. Bush instead of Al Gore.
Four days after a tense wait spanning twenty years, television viewers witnessed the tallying of 270 electoral votes in favor of President Biden on November 7, 2020. Due to pandemic-related restrictions, an extraordinary number of mail-in ballots were counted, causing delays. The ensuing legal challenges by former President Trump and his efforts to halt the certification of the vote unfolded into a dramatic narrative that ultimately culminated in the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
2020’s rocky journey has news stations gearing up for more unexplored landscapes as the vote counting commences on Tuesday night in the closely contested election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The 2024 election may hinge on slim margins across up to seven states, and Trump has started making claims of voter fraud, a tactic he employed four years ago.
As a film enthusiast, I can’t help but feel a thrill of anticipation when I hear predictions like these: “If the surveys are on point, we’re in store for quite an exciting ride.” Chris Stirewalt, political director for cable network NewsNation and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a renowned Washington think tank, shares this view.
News executives plan to station more reporters in the key election states and designate some to focus on election security and potential demonstrations. Lawyers skilled in election matters are currently highly sought after in television news studios.
Catherine Kim, executive vice president for editorial at NBC News, stated that we significantly enhanced our knowledge about state election laws,” she said. “Our team is now fully committed and will be working tirelessly.
At their Rockefeller Center headquarters, NBC News and MSNBC will set up a “study area” where their legal experts can swiftly analyze and explain court cases as they arise.
The news network CNN has brought on board Benjamin Ginsberg, a lawyer who worked for the Bush campaign during the 2000 election. Similarly, Fox News has welcomed Thomas Dupree, a former assistant district attorney under the Obama administration, into their panel of legal analysts.
CBS News is setting up a “Democracy Analysis Center” to scrutinize issues related to elections, along with their Fact-Checking team known as CBS News Confirmed. Meanwhile, ABC has established an “Election Integrity Monitor” team, referred to as Ballot Watch.
Networks once prided themselves on being the first to declare the election results. Not anymore.
Rick Klein, vice president and Washington bureau chief for ABC News, stated, “Declaring the outcome of an election is tricky ground.” He added, “While most viewers may not be aware or concerned about who announces a state first, everyone should be mindful that the correct result is announced.
Being first and right can even have its drawbacks in the current hyper-partisan environment.
In the year 2020, Fox News, collaborating with the Associated Press and the research organization NORC at the University of Chicago, predicted Arizona for Biden around 11:20 PM Eastern time, when approximately 80% of the votes had been counted. This call, which significantly influenced the storyline of the race, sparked outrage from the Trump campaign and stirred internal dissatisfaction at Fox News. In fact, the conservative-oriented network experienced a mass departure of upset viewers in the ensuing months.
On this occasion, unlike previous elections, Fox News made up its mind early to assign Arizona’s 11 electoral votes to Biden ahead of other networks. However, it’s important for viewers to keep in mind that the results may take longer this time.
Klein stated that it’s possible there won’t be any predictions made on election night. He emphasized the importance of acknowledging the significant amount of uncertainty in the results, even as the polls close and the initial results begin to appear.
On election night, we’ll embrace the unpredictable and take it as it comes, just like we’ve learned to do throughout the process, explained Doug Rohrbeck, Senior Vice President of Washington News and Politics at Fox News.
In 2020, the process was significantly influenced by the large number of people who voted early, a demographic that tended Democrat. However, it’s uncertain what effect this group will have during this year’s election.
In response to their 2020 defeat, Republicans have now adopted early and mail-in voting, according to Stirewalt. Additionally, Trump, the former president, no longer emphasizes concerns about mail-in ballots as much as he used to. Therefore, we should approach this year’s election night with a great deal of humility and an open mind, as our past assumptions may not hold true.
Given potential allegations of voting inconsistencies may arise, news outlets are anticipated to maintain transparency.
In past elections, experts from political science, analysis, and statistics who decide election results usually stayed off-camera unless necessary. However, for this upcoming election, CBS News intends to offer viewers a more in-depth look at the process of declaring states’ results. NewsNation is collaborating with Decision Desk HQ for their vote counting, allowing viewers a continuous view of the room where the counting takes place.
Additional reporters and content creators will be stationed in critical counties within the crucial voting states, demonstrating the formal procedures taking place.
According to Mary Hager, who serves as the executive editor for politics at CBS News, it’s likely that there will be a higher number of ballots being counted in real-time than we’ve seen before.
As a devoted cinema-goer peering into the future, I can’t help but ponder another intriguing scenario for Election Night 2024: The prophecies could miss their mark, much like they did in the past three presidential election cycles. It might just so happen that we find our victor long after the polls on the West Coast have closed, with the drama unfolding well into the night.
In the last stages of the 2012 election, President Obama was almost tied with his Republican rival, Mitt Romney. However, come Election Day, Obama secured a 4-point lead in the popular vote and trounced Romney in the electoral college by a margin of 332 to 206 votes.
Klein stated, “The election results might heavily favor either side, but keep in mind that this is a possibility in either case. Don’t be taken aback by whatever the final result may be.
According to Stirewalt, viewers can anticipate some insights from the outcomes in North Carolina and Georgia as they typically finalize vote counts prior to 8 PM Eastern Time and are known for their swiftness in tallying ballots.
We’ll quickly analyze a representative sample of public opinion, and between 7:30 and 9:30, we can determine if the polls were off or perhaps they were accurate and the race is extremely tight. If the polls are incorrect, they usually skew in the same direction everywhere.
Stirewalt expresses his wish for the result, regardless of who wins, to avoid repeating the prolonged contest that occurred between Bush and Gore in the year 2000, an election that took place during a relatively peaceful era in American politics.
He expressed his doubt that, given our current situation, we possess the necessary resilience and trust in our leaders to endure such a challenging trial.
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2024-11-03 14:35