Election Day will be here in a little more than a week but because of massive amounts of mail voting, and the human element of it all, there will likely be a bit of time before we definitively know who won the race for president 鈥� or the outcomes of some other key races.
We know there鈥檚 a lot of misinformation out there, and there鈥檚 plenty of anxiety of how things will shake out on Nov. 3 and beyond, so we put together this quick look at how we plan to cover things on Election Day (and in the days to follow).
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And while we鈥檙e letting you, our readers and listeners, know how we plan to handle things on that historic night, we also want to pull the curtain back to let you know a bit about how we planned our coverage and our focal points in the run up to next Tuesday.
How does SA国际传谋 decide what to cover?
We鈥檙e residents and voters just like you, so we strive to give you all a look at some of the biggest races that even our newsroom wanted to learn more about but with a keen focus on local and statewide issues.
We are turning to NPR鈥檚 nationwide coverage for things like the latest in the presidential race and devoting SA国际传谋 staff鈥檚 time to things like previewing the school board races in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, the referenda in those counties, cruise-related items in Key West and a breakdown of all the statewide amendments.
Naturally, because we don鈥檛 have dozens and dozens of staffers and we鈥檙e still in a pandemic, we can't touch on everything. But we try our hardest to give a broad view and to answer key questions that voters might have. Stay tuned for more coverage of key races and results on Election Day. And speaking of鈥�
How are you planning to cover Election Day/Night/Week?
Our staff will be focused on identifying and reporting on the latest voter turnout numbers, any issues at polling places, and we want to hear from you about what you鈥檙e seeing.
All of that will be part of a blog that we鈥檒l be updating throughout the day and into Election Night.
As polling places begin to close at 7 p.m. we鈥檒l have live coverage on our radio and TV airwaves and streaming via our website and app, and you鈥檒l start to see stories from our staff about the results of key races.
We鈥檒l also provide those updates via our social media channels, primarily through Twitter and Instagram.
In the days that follow, our staff will also be keyed in on whatever鈥檚 happening at local supervisor of elections offices across South Florida. Our goal is to provide as much information as we can about the counting of ballots, certification of results and anything else that may arise after Nov. 3.
And we鈥檒l also have folks on standby to cover any demonstrations that could arise, and in case there are any legal challenges to the results of the election.
How will you report out winners and results?
We鈥檒l turn to NPR and the Associated Press . And we鈥檒l be basing our reporting on the numbers from county elections departments and the state and then leaning on our national partners for results outside of Florida.
You may also notice some differences in the language we use compared to previous elections.
Our goal is to avoid contributing to any misconceptions or misinformation about the results of various races so instead of using language like 鈥渢his candidate is ahead鈥� or 鈥渢his candidate is winning鈥� you might hear us get a little more granular in our descriptions.
You will likely hear and see language like 鈥渢his candidate has this number of votes, based on the votes that have been counted so far,鈥� because it鈥檚 a much more fair and accurate way to report out where a race stands until things are officially counted and eventually certified by election officials.
There will likely be some exceptions, particularly in local races and on referenda and amendments. If a candidate has an overwhelming lead that their opponent or opponents likely can't catch up to, based on the remaining number of votes to be counted, we will likely declare them the 鈥減rojected winner鈥� with the note that Tuesday night鈥檚 results are still technically unofficial.
Similarly, if a ballot item seems to have clearly met the threshold for a yes or no from voters we鈥檒l likely project that the item was approved or denied 鈥� again, based on unofficial results until everything is certified.
Ok, you鈥檝e mentioned certification a few times. What鈥檚 that all about?
The reason many folks consider it an Election Week and not just Election Day is because no one can truly say they won a race 鈥� or say that a ballot item was approved or denied 鈥� until it鈥檚 certified.
That happens first at the county level, when the canvassing board convenes, and they have until noon Saturday, Nov. 7, to deliver the unofficial results to Florida's state department 鈥� the state elections department falls under Florida's Department of State.
From there the state's canvassing commission will meet, Nov. 17, to officially certify the state's results for multicounty, statewide and federal races.
All of the above is the schedule if things go as planned and scheduled. There's some variations if recounts are necessary or if there are any other irregularities. You can to see the state's full calendar and post-Election Day deadlines.
What else should I know?
That our team is human and so we might not get to everything, or at least might not get to everything right away, so please know that we鈥檒l be trying our hardest to keep you all informed about results and all of the relevant news you 鈥� our listeners and readers 鈥� need to know.
And know that we want to hear from you in the lead up to Election Day and on Nov. 3, so reach out to us on all of our social media platforms 鈥� we鈥檙e @SA国际传谋 on and , and SA国际传谋 Public Radio and Television on . And email us at talktous@wlrnnews.org.
