Today is a momentous day in my area-mine and THIS were the editorial page

[w8liftinglady]

The only posted editorials today

http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2010/10/01/opinion/doc4ca5fb37dd017903305016.txt

Let every vote before calling
Published: Friday, October 1, 2010 10:36 AM CDT
Martin Frost
Guest Columnist

Something that happened on election night 30 years ago could again become a big issue ��” unless the major TV networks and cable outlets reach an agreement before Nov. 2. 



On election night in 1980, President Jimmy Carter conceded to Ronald Reagan before 10 p.m. Eastern time, while polls were still open on the West Coast. It was widely reported that Carter’s early concession led voters to leave polling places rather than stay in line to vote.

This may have made the difference in some closely contested congressional races in the Pacific time zone. 



As a result, the TV networks made a gentlemen’s agreement not to call a national election until all the polls had closed nationwide, no matter what the trend indicated. And presidential candidates agreed not to make concession statements before 10 p.m. Eastern time. 



There is no presidential contest in 2010 and thus no one person for the networks to project as a winner early in the evening and no one person to make a concession speech. 



But this brings us to the question of how the networks will conduct themselves if an early trend shows up for control of the House or Senate. 



This is not an academic question. There are at least two Senate races in the Pacific time zone that could be close and affect which party controls the upper chamber ��” those of Harry Reid in Nevada and Barbara Boxer in California. Both are considered extremely tight, with the Democratic incumbents fighting off serious challenges from Republicans. A third race, that of Democrat Michael Bennet in Colorado, is in the Mountain time zone, where polls close at 9 p.m. Eastern time. 



There are also a number of House races in three Pacific time states ��” Arizona, Nevada and California ��” that are hotly contested and could influence which party controls the House. 



Washington and Oregon also have close races. However, vote by mail is the practice in those states, and the outcomes would not be affected by an early network call on election night.

What if something unusual happens in the Eastern time zone? For example, what if Republican Senate candidates pull upset victories in Connecticut or Delaware or West Virginia? These results might cause some political analysts to say that the race for Senate control is over ��” even if that did not ultimately turn out to be true. 



Will the networks withhold making any definitive statements about Senate control until the polls have closed on the West Coast? 



What if Republicans make major House gains in Eastern time states in the Northeast and Southeast? Some observers might say the contest for control of the House is over without waiting for results from Western states.

Will the networks withhold making any definitive statements about House control until the polls have closed on the West Coast? 



A premature call by networks or cable outlets could harm Republican candidates as well as Democratic ones. It is certainly possible that some Republican voters in the Rocky Mountain or Western states might decide not to vote if they think their party has already won. 



This issue needs to be addressed by the major networks and cable news executives now ��” before any returns start coming in. The worst thing that could happen is for voters in some parts of the United States to feel that they were cheated because the media made a premature ��” and possibly inaccurate ��” early call on election night. 

Whichever party prevails, it should win only after everyone has had a chance to vote.

Martin Frost, an attorney with Polsinelli Shughart PC, served in the House from 1979 to 2005. He was Democratic Caucus chairman and head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.


and mine:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9235520

[w8liftinglady]

1. kicking because this is a major change...but then, my editor is great.

[countingbluecars]

2. K&R n/t

[w8liftinglady]

3. Thanks..I was so proud of the editor...

[smalll]

4. What nonsense. Do you think most people will not vote in, say, the Boxer/Fiorina contest

just because it may be quite clear by then which party has "control" of the Senate? Ridiculous.

Also, people on the West Coast need to stop whining about this kind of thing, even during a Presidential election. There's pluses and minuses to living in most places.

Plus - your Presidential votes will often feel like anticlimaxes. Minus - you don't have to face midnight baseball when the World Series includes teams such as the Athletics or the Giants.

Plus - most people out there never have to see real winter. Minus - they have to face something called a "fire season" every year.

I say the west coasters should suck it up and deal, or move.

[gratuitous]

5. Ah yes, being disenfranchised < staying up late to watch a game

I'm so glad there are people here to explain these things. If I didn't see it at DU, I'd think someone saying such a thing was a nincompoop.

[madamesilverspurs]

6. During the Carter/Reagan election

my mother was working as an election judge in California. She said that one minute there were people in long lines waiting to vote, the next minute they were all leaving. What really ticked her off was that information that could have been wrong was delivered to those people in line. What made her even madder was that so many people were apparently dismissing the down-ticket races.

Sadly, our mainstream media is heavily invested in election outcomes, they'll never observe responsible election reporting.

-