Election Night

bombjack2

Looking forward to this, planning to take a day off work so I can watch the results coming in.

Does anyone know what time (Irish Time) the results will start coming in?

Will all the states results come in at the same time, or will there be wide spread in the times from east to west?

I presume the bigger the % win in a state then the quicker the state gets called for a candidate? With closer states taking longer for possible re-counts?

Also will all voting be electronic? Or do they still use manual counts?

Manic Moran

Your first election?

You are generally correct: The 'safer' the States, the earlier it will be called. So New York is going to be 'called' as soon as the polls close, the chances of it going for McCain are about zero. In the case of closer States, it will be 'called' by the news networks once sufficient ballots have been counted that it is a statistical improbability that the lead would change. This is purely for the media, the official results come in after all the ballots have been counted. The Florida balls-up in 2000 is a very good example of the distinction.

The polls close at different times depending on State and time zone. Thus the polls for Hawaii and Alaska will be last to close, but since they're both safe States, they will likely not be the last to be 'called.' Some States cover multiple time zones so some polls in a State may be closed whilst others are open: Again, after the 2000 balls-up, they're not going to 'call' them until after the last polls in the State have closed, regardless of time. (It is argued that in 2000, after the majority of polls closed in Florida and the State was 'called' for Democrats that a number of voters in the Republican-leaning Panhandle decided it wasn't worth going to the ballot stations which were still open in their areas)

Off the bat, I wouldn't expect even the first results to show up before 11pm Irish time (6pm Eastern). They'll start coming in in force at about midnight and 1am.

As far as I know, electronic counting is the most common. For example, in California optical scanners are the system of choice. Manual recounts are an option.

planning to take a day off work so I can watch the results coming in.

You're mad, by the way.

NTM

Our man in Havana

The polls close at different times depending on what time zone they are in. Normally CNN will call the state as soon as the polls close. For example the polls in New York close at 9pm Eastern. At 9.01 pm CNN will have called the state. So in theory by announcing the results in the East if can influence voters in the Western states.

The actual counts are done by a machine in most areas. There are manual machine ballots (the voter punches holes in the paper) just fed into a machine and a result calculated.

Our man in Havana

The polls close at different times depending on State and time zone. Thus the polls for Hawaii and Alaska will be last to close, but since they're both safe States, they will likely not be the last to be 'called.' Some States cover multiple time zones so some polls in a State may be closed whilst others are open: Again, after the 2000 balls-up, they're not going to 'call' them until after the last polls in the State have closed, regardless of time. (It is argued that in 2000, after the majority of polls closed in Florida and the State was 'called' for Democrats that a number of voters in the Republican-leaning Panhandle decided it wasn't worth going to the ballot stations which were still open in their areas)

Has it ever been argued that calling the eastern states while the polls are still open in the west could cause voters not to vote or spur on one side to get out the vote. In other words would the early calling be predjuicial?

In Canada there is a news blackout until all polls are closed nationwide.

Manic Moran

It has been suggested, but is wildly unpopular. We live in the exiting entertainment culture, after all. People want the excitement of hearing scores come in over time, make an event of it! Don't just wait until the following morning and a news bulletin. The news corporations all want to be the first to announce the results, and keep people glued to their screens longer. (Thus they get more advertising revenue), it's not reporting, it's business and a battlefield.

Not the most admirable part of American culture, I'm afraid.

NTM

banquo

I thought there was an embargo on revealing any results until all voting was done nationwide.

Our man in Havana

Nope. The only embargo is on the Canadian federal elections, where the voters are spread out over 6 time zones.

Black Swan

I am predicting that Florida, one of the 3 major swing states, and a close call for the 2000 Bush-Gore presidential (and apparently this one, if you can believe the flip flopping election polls), will have election ballot counting problems, including overseas ballot counting.

Our man in Havana

They don't count the overseas ballots unless they could affect the result. They made a difference in 2000 in Florida. I expect any funny business to happen in places that are too close like Ohio or Minnesota this time.

Manic Moran

Bond-007 wrote: »

They don't count the overseas ballots unless they could affect the result. They made a difference in 2000 in Florida. I expect any funny business to happen in places that are too close like Ohio or Minnesota this time.

May still be a difference in Florida. A lot of military types are registered there, many will be voting from overseas and the surveys are showing a heavy Republican leaning from that demographic. However, OH and MN do not have a large number of deployed military, so the overseas ballots will be of little effect in those States.

NTM

bombjack2

Thanks for the info, what time do US polling stations close at?
Does it vary from state to state or is there a national rule?

Manic Moran wrote: »

Your first election?

Not my first election, but can't remember the times etc from 4 years ago.

Our man in Havana

bombjack2 wrote: »

Thanks for the info, what time do US polling stations close at?
Does it vary from state to state or is there a national rule?

It is usually from 7pm to 9pm local time depending on the state. Polls close in Florida at 7pm local, in New York it is 9pm. Hence you have staggered closing of the polls from east to west.

dr.bollocko

Wasn't it at about 2am that they gave it to Gore in 00? From what I can remember anyway.

Our man in Havana

CNN called the election purely on exit polls in 2000. It was a most serious error. What went on in 2000 was crazy. At 7pm eastern the polls closed on most of the east coast. At 7pm and 30 seconds CNN were calling the various states. Crazy.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2001/ALLPOLITICS/stories/02/02/cnn.report/cnn.pdf

Black Swan

bombjack2 wrote: »

Thanks for the info, what time do US polling stations close at?

California, the largest state in population with 55 electoral college votes opens 4 November at 7AM and closes 8PM (4AM Ireland time 5 November). If the election is a landslide for either party, by 12midnight (8AM Ireland time) you should know who won (270 minimum electoral votes to win).

If it is anything like the extremely tight 2000 Bush-Gore presidential election, it may be days before the final winner is officially announced. There will be claims of voter tampering, ballot box stuffing, voting machine error, voter fraud, etc.

Pocono Joe

There’s an unsubstantiated rumor that BlueLagoo will be traveling from the left coast to the state where we value our guns and bibles, and join us for my November 4th McCain/Palin victory party. I think the main draw though will be the inevitable pie fight that is sure to ensue directly after the Obama concession speech.

Our man in Havana

Roffle

I am looking foreward to it already.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

will the daily show/colbert report be doing a live show again?

Overheal

i dont think theyve announced whether they will yet. watched the clips from the other one though; hilarious watching them crack under pressure.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=113787&title=Indecision-2000---Florida-to-Decide-It

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=115225&title=indecision-2000-not-steps

popped the question to the producers anyway. check back to see if there was a response from anyone with a red or orange nametag at this link: http://forum.thedailyshow.com/tds/board/message?board.id=election&thread.id=394

the1andonly1

seems like the will be doing a joint show....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/arts/television/09live.html?ref=politics

its about half way through the article

Overheal

:eek:

bastards snatched my idea without even giving me so much as a nod and a wink....except that article was published a day before my question was posted

Cadet?

Anyone know if this Leviathan 'Political Cabaret' is any good?

Here's the link to their election special thingamajig..............

http://ww2.buttonfactory.ie/profile.php?ID=1749


Anyone know if there are any other events planned around Dublin for election nite?

The Mad Hatter

Pocono Joe wrote: »

There’s an unsubstantiated rumor that BlueLagoo will be traveling from the left coast to the state where we value our guns and bibles, and join us for my November 4th McCain/Palin victory party. I think the main draw though will be the inevitable pie fight that is sure to ensue directly after the Obama concession speech.

The left coast? Does everyone face north now?

Edit: wait, I just realised this was a political reference >.<

Black Swan

Pocono Joe wrote: »

There’s an unsubstantiated rumor that BlueLagoo will be traveling from the left coast to the state where we value our guns and bibles, and join us for my November 4th McCain/Palin victory party. I think the main draw though will be the inevitable pie fight that is sure to ensue directly after the Obama concession speech.

This false Pocono Joe manufactured rumour has as much merit (or humour) as when he attempts to claim that Sarah Palin is qualified as vice president, thereby suggesting that she was not at fault when:

• abusing her power as Governor by trying to pressure the firing of her former brother-in-law trooper during her sister's nasty divorce child custody dispute
• exhibiting her poor ability to select persons for high office when appointing Kopp to the vacated post of Commissioner of Public Safety, only to discover later that he had a history of sexual harassment, thereby forcing Palin to replace him after only 14 days as Commissioner, along with $10,000 severance
• flip flopping on the $300 million "Bridge to Nowhere," first publicly supporting its construction, only to change her position after a national outcry about the waste of taxpayers money
• demonstrating her amateurish reliance on her salmon fisherman and oil worker husband Todd, when providing him a place in her governor's office, and consulting him regarding million dollar state budget cuts and personnel decisions
• evidencing her foolish reliance on the security of yahoo to conduct official State of Alaska business, using email addresses with "gov" and either "sarah" or "palin," along with family related passwords easily figured out by hackers.

The list could go on and on about her qualifications for vice president, but I am laughing so much that I just can't continue. Sarah Palin would fit as a character in the old weird humourous series "Northern Exposure," although she would have probably spoiled it when she shot the moose that frequently walked the set.