| 11/03/06
The
AP on Election Night
The AP assigns county reporters on election night to nearly
every county (and city and town in New England), about 4,600
in all, to report the vote on 5,900 races nationwide.
These county reporters, more commonly referred to in the industry
as "stringers," obtain the official vote counts
from local election officials and relay them to AP's election
centers.
Most county reporters make multiple calls to one of four regional
election tabulation centers, two of them in Spokane, Washington,
a third at AP headquarters in Manhattan and a fourth in Brooklyn,
or to one of a dozen state centers. There they are entered
into AP’s computer election system, tabulated, and distributed
by satellite or the Internet to members and other customers.
The earliest returns show up on news wires and special election
services shortly after 6 p.m. EST, when the polls close in
Indiana and Kentucky, and the pace quickens soon to peak between
10 p.m. and midnight EST. The count continues well into the
early morning hours, and through the day Wednesday.
In addition to transmitting returns in standard newspaper
formats, AP delivers returns online to newspapers, broadcasters
and others. Regularly updated reports show up on customers’
Web sites and are available though the AP Vote Count system
for newsroom use.
With the focus in this non-presidential year on races for
both houses of Congress, in addition to reports on every race
the AP distributes frequently updated “trend”
tables showing the party breakdown for the House and Senate.
AP serves the television networks with results on top-of-the-ticket
races for Congress, governor and some ballot issues of national
interest. Election computers serve ever state and the District
of Columbia. AP members and subscribers get returns on state
races at least through legislature, as well as state ballot
issues.
AP uses a variety of sources to obtain results, including
county reporters at locations where votes are counted, plus
electronic feeds from some secretaries of state.
Before results are entered into AP election computers, they
are run through a system of software checks that look for
reports that exceed parameters based on voter registration
and voting history. In addition, a team of experienced analysts
examine returns after they are entered for accuracy and thoroughness.
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