AP ELECTIONS: OVERVIEW
THE ONLY SOURCE FOR ALL ELECTION RESULTS– AP is the only source of
national election results– AP provides members and
other customers with a variety of election results
– AP delivers results to a variety of platforms
– AP covers federal, state and local races and issues
AP ELECTIONSAfter the polls close…
A LONG HISTORY, WIDE SCOPE
– Reputation for speed, accuracy and thoroughness for more than 160 years
– AP tabulates nearly 7,000 races in more than 4,600 reporting units in a national general election
– AP tabulates virtually every statewide primary and general election as well many other elections
OUR VALUES AND PRIORITIES– Number one priority is accuracy
– Record is rather incredible in this regard. Sometimes accuracy means being cautious and waiting
– AP does not ‘call’ races on election night until the poll closing time has passed for all involved counties
– Respect and appreciate the incredible work of state and local election officials
HOW DO WE DO IT? OUR ASSETS INCLUDE:
– Experienced staff– Sophisticated tools– A proven election tabulation
system– Stringers in every county – Help from county election
officials– Professional call centers– Other resources and safeguards– Teamwork and communication
EXPERIENCED STAFF– AP has bureaus in every state
– A full time election research/quality control group
– Election coordinators, stringer coordinators and researchers. Some have more than 20 years experience
– AP hosts a series of training sessions for race callers
A HUGE NETWORK OF LOCAL STRINGERS
– AP hires local stringers to be our eyes and ears at each reporting unit location
For the presidential election will have more than 5,000 people were working on our election operation
– AP stringers are given access and vote updates from election officials in each reporting unit
PROFESSIONALLY RUN CALL CENTERS
Experienced center management & supervisors
AP’s center staff work every election night
AP conducts rehearsals for major elections
VERIFICATION
– Vote entry before polls closed
– Positive non-absentee tally and no precincts
– Too few votes per precinct
– Lead change
– Tie for lead greater than the change in party preference
– Absentee method
– Large/small race with few/many precincts
– Various vote drop sizes for major/minor candidates
– Drops in absentee/precincts reporting
– Total absentee tally more than Maximum absentees allowed
– Registration changed during vote entry Candidate's percentage changed
– Non-absentee votes added but no added precincts
– All precincts reporting in first report Declared winner no longer leading Precincts too low/high per candidate
– Votes too low/high per candidate
– Absentees too low/high per candidate
We have automated vote verifications that check for:
RACE CALLS– AP has race callers assigned to every state
– Typically bureau chiefs or other AP managers with years of experience
– AP hosts a series of training sessions for race callers
– Preparation is the key Know the state Know what to expect Know the absentee/early and provisional voting
history; recent election law changes
WHAT’S DIFFERENT IN 2012?– Only one party held a presidential primary nominating
process.– GOP changed from a mostly winner-take-all system to
proportional allocation of delegates.– Largest difference is how newsrooms process a dynamic
data feed like election returns. Old way is too cumbersome, requiring too much processing time. Thinner packets, APIs, AP-Google Maps Mobile, Mobile, Mobile Tablets HTML
ASSOCIATED PRESS 13May 2012
MOBILE FOR SMART AND NOT-SO SMART PHONES
ASSOCIATED PRESS 14
EXAMPLES
May 2012
ROAD TO 270http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/roadto270/
CANDIDATE TRACKERhttp://hosted.ap.org/interactives/cms/ CAMPAIGN FINANCEhttp://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2011/campaign-finance/ AP’s NATIONAL DELEGATE TRACKERhttp://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/delegate-tracker/ AP’S INSTAGRAM PROJECThttp://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/instagram-campaign-trail
ASSOCIATED PRESS 15May 2012