Networks May Call the Election Before Polls Close
Back in 2000, American media declared then Vice President Al Gore the winner of the State of Florida and, therefore, of the presidential election. Democrats celebrated, thinking they had secured four more years in the White House.
But the something happened: George W. Bush made a comeback in the vote count in Florida. Suddenly the race became “too close to call” and, in the end, it was Bush who won, not Gore.
What had happened? Well, the polls were still open, but American media pretended they had closed. Not only that, the media also trusted the exit polls, without understanding that exit polls are unreliable, for they way heavily Democratic.
Instead of learning from the lessons of 2000, the New York Times reports today that several networks may once again declare a winner before the polls close.
The race to call the election is due to the high degree of competition in America. Every single major network wants to be the first one to call it because it will give them higher ratings. If they call it correctly, more people will turn into the channel during the next election, eagerly awaiting the verdict.
But calling an election before the polls close has proved disastrous in the past.
Media – old and new – should have learned from 2000, and should have announced they would wait until all the polls have closed and the first actual results start coming in. As such, we will report about the exit polls here, and we will report it when a network calls it for either candidate, but we will not join any early networks in declaring a winner until we can be sure that it is correct.
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I remember they were slightly more cautious in 04 than 00 – but not always. Fox for instance called a few states close, but too close for them to predict. However CNN had called it by then.
it is what it is. One thing that needs to be addressed after tomorrow is over.
There is no way the winner does not owe something to somebody given that amount of money.
Ask President Dewey about calling the election too early…..