Post-Election
Analyses
Ballot
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November
7, 2000.
In cities and towns across America, before heading off to work, during
lunch break, or after another day at the office, people went to the
polls
to cast their votes for the next president of the United States.
(All told more than 105 million people voted for president, but some
voted
during early voting periods or by absentee ballot). About as many
eligible voters did not vote, citing reasons such as being too
busy
or unable to get time off, lack of interest, the sentiment that "my
vote
doesn't make a difference," inadequate knowledge of the candidates or
dislike
of the candidates. As subsequent events showed, however, in this
election each and every vote was critical.
Spotlight
on Florida
Voter News Service
What the viewer sees
on
election night, and in the newspaper the next morning, is the
culmination
of months of preparation and planning. A key entity in bringing the
results
to the nation is Voter News Service, a cooperative formed by ABC News,
the Associated Press, CBS News, Cable News Network, Fox News and NBC
News.
VNS performs two distinct functions. First, it does Election Day exit
polling, surveying voters in randomly selected precincts as they
leave
polling places. On November 5, 1996 VNS's national exit poll surveyed
14,651
voters in 300 randomly selected precincts. VNS also does individual
state
exit polls. Exit polls provide a window on the concerns of voters and
useful
information on variations in voting behavior by gender, race, age,
education,
income and other factors. VNS's second function is to collect, tabulate
and distribute unofficial election night vote results for
presidential,
Senate, House and gubernatorial races. VNS works with election
officials
in every county in the country to gather these results. On election
night,
stringers and reporters in tens of thousands of precincts around the
country
call in reports to VNS, which then processes and transmits the
information.
Showtime
For news
organizations,
election night is as good as it gets, a chance to show what they can
do.
Anchors man elaborate sets, correspondents around the country file
reports,
and, as the evening progresses, states are called one way or another
and
the map begins to fill in with red and blue. The
Long Night
Defeat...And
Victory Gore
Election Night
At some point in the
evening,
the outcome has become apparent to all, not just those with access to
the
exit polls. The defeated candidate calls the victor to concede
and
then delivers his or her concession speech. The president-elect
delivers
his or her victory speech to jubilant supporters.
The Morning After...What Does
It Mean?
The days after the
election
are peak season for pundits as they assess, analyze, discuss and debate
the meaning of the results. Various interest groups offer their
own
post-election assessments, often using the opportunity to point to the
impact their constituency had on the outcome or to launch some barbs at
their opponents.
Election Day: Take 2...The
Electoral
College Photos
As you will recall
from
high school, the president is not selected by direct popular vote, but
by intermediaries known as electors. The electoral system is outlined
in
the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1804 (this
significantly
modified the original provisions contained in Article II). Each state
has
a number of electors equal to its number of congressmen and Senators.
The
District of Columbia has three electors, bringing the total to 538.
Most
states use a winner-take-all rule; all the state's electors go to the
winner
of the popular vote in the state.
Electors are
generally party
activists. Some months before the election each party puts together a
slate
of electors, chosen by congressional district with the exception of the
two at-large Senate slots. If the party's presidential candidate wins
the
popular vote in the state on Election Day, its electors meet in the
state
capitol on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December
2000.
If not they stay home.
Gathering for the
mid-December
ceremony at the state capitol, electors sign the certificate of
vote--actually
they sign several copies of the document so there are back-ups.
There
are separate votes for president and for vice president. Each
state
sends one copy of the certificate of vote to the Office of the
President
of the United States Senate. Finally, on January 6th, in a
special
joint session of Congress these envelopes are opened and tallied and
the
outcome of the election is officially certified.
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Normally
this is a routine
affair. Because of the Florida controversy, some Democrats [Democrats.com]
still had not given up on January 6, 2001 even though Vice President
Gore
had conceded. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus tried to
get Congress to reject Florida's electors, but they could not find a
Senator
to support their effort [as required by 3
U.S.C. Sect. 15]. |
Jan. 6,
2001--Vice President
Al Gore presided over the joint session of Congress that certified
George
W. Bush as the winner of the 2000 election. |
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Voter Turnout
in Recent
Years1
Year |
Voting
Age Population (VAP) |
Total
Vote |
%
VAP Voted |
2000 |
205,814,000 |
105,396,475 |
51.2 |
1996 |
196,507,000 |
96,277,634 |
49.8 |
1992 |
182,628,000 |
104,428,377 |
55.2 |
1988 |
182,628,000 |
91,594,805 |
50.1 |
1984 |
164,595,000 |
92,653,000 |
53.1 |
1980 |
164,595,000 |
86,497,000 |
52.6 |
1976 |
152,308,000 |
81,603,000 |
53.5 |
1972 |
140,777,000 |
77,625,000 |
55.2 |
Source: Committee
for the Study
of the American Electorate. 2000 figures from Census Bureau and
FEC.
1. For the five
presidential
elections from 1952-1968, turnout hovered around 60%.
Election Night Coverage: What
Went
Wrong
The House Subcommittee
on
Telecommunications, Trade & Consumer Protection (Commerce), chaired
by Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), held hearings on the effects of the
networks'
election night projections on Feb. 14, 2001.
CNN commissioned an independent review panel which produced a report
[Joan
Konner, James Risser, and Ben Wattenberg. "Television's
Performance
on Election Night 2000: A Report for CNN," Jan. 29, 2001] (PDF
format),
and it is instituting new
policies for election night coverage.
American
Antitrust Institute Calls for Break Up of VNS (11/27/00)
More Useful Links
National Election Studies
NES
"Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior"
Electoral
College
(National Archives site)
Resolution
Proposing That the Electoral College Be Abolished
Citizens for
True
Democracy (seeks abolition of Electoral College)
1992 and
1996 Maps and
Results
Copyright 1998,
1999, 2000,
2001 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.
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