House panel to review news media's election calls
By The Associated Press
11.10.00
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| ABC News shows Florida voting for Al Gore as Pfc. Jacob
Lester, of Modesto, Calif., watches from U.S. Eagle base near Tuzla, Bosnia,
Nov. 8. |
WASHINGTON — A House telecommunications panel launched an
investigation yesterday into what led news organizations to prematurely call
Democrat Al Gore the winner in Florida and whether that depressed voter turnout
elsewhere in the country.
The panel's chairman, Republican Rep. Billy Tauzin of Louisiana, told
reporters that the call for Gore, which was reversed a few hours later,
happened before all polls in Florida had closed and may have deterred
Republican voters in states where polls were open much later.
Tauzin said that calling Florida for Gore "may have sent a signal
out to Americans that this election was being decided in a way that was not
accurate. When they're being told by the networks that it's already over,
that's akin to disenfranchising them."
Between 7:49 and 8 p.m. EST on Nov. 7, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox, ABC and the
Associated Press all called Florida, with its decisive 25 electoral votes, for
Gore. Polls were still open in the western part of Florida, which is in the
central time zone, as well as most states in the West.
At about 9:55 p.m. EST, the networks and the AP began taking back
those projections based on the actual Florida vote count that showed a tight
race between Gore and Republican George W. Bush.
Early Nov. 8, the TV networks called Florida for Bush and declared him
winner of the presidential election, then were forced to back down on that
projection as well. The AP did not declare an election winner. A recount is
under way to determine the actual winner.
Tauzin said he was sending a letter to the heads of the TV networks
and the AP asking a series of questions about how the projections were made.
Although Congress returns for a lame-duck session on the budget next week,
Tauzin said hearings would probably not take place until next year.
Central to the probe, he said, is the role of the Voter News Service,
a consortium of the networks and the AP that uses voter exit polls and actual
results to help make election projections. Other news organizations subscribe
to VNS data.
"I don't intend to violate the law or the spirit of the First
Amendment," Tauzin told reporters. "The intent is to find out what
went wrong in this system."
Tauzin said a depressed voter turnout in the West may have had an
impact on the House races in California that Republicans lost and on the
national popular presidential vote that went for Gore.
Under a 1985 agreement, the networks have usually held off using voter
exit polls to call elections until most polls are closed in a given state.
Tauzin said the investigation may determine that "a new agreement" on
use of this data is necessary, but he said there would be no effort to restrict
its use with federal legislation.
"We should not try to pass laws about how people report
elections," he said.
While officials at the TV networks said they had not received the
letter, several said they were already looking into how the Florida projections
went awry.
"We are conducting a top-to-bottom review of our election night
projections to establish exactly what happened," said ABC News spokesman
Jeff Schneider. "We will take whatever steps necessary to ensure this
doesn't happen again."
NBC News spokesman Barbara Levin said the network is "very
concerned about the VNS data and believe the Florida call warrants a careful
examination. We will work to get to the bottom of it."
Updates
TV chiefs to testify before Congress on election coverage
Rep. Billy Tauzin's House committee will hold Feb. 14 hearing on networks' erroneous election-night projections.
02.09.01
Congressional Republicans charge networks with election-night bias
House Telecommunications Subcommittee chairman says early calls for Gore might have discouraged Republican voters, affected outcome in Florida and other states.
11.17.00
Oklahoma lawmaker proposes presidential election-return blackout
Legislation would bar state election officials from reporting vote results for 2 ½ hours, restrict exit polling.
11.14.00
Related
Law firm asks FCC to investigate early election calls
Attorneys contend networks subverted public interest with their efforts to win the race to project next U.S. president.
12.01.00
Group with GOP ties sues TV networks over early call on Florida
Lawsuit filed in Okaloosa County seeks to prevent networks, Voter News Service from making similar projections in future elections before all polls close in a state.
11.16.00
Networks should shun congressional hearings on election coverage
By Douglas Lee Voluntary participation by media in hearings would legitimize an illegitimate inquiry.
11.22.00
Senator considers resurrecting legislation to regulate election reporting
Meanwhile, Walter Cronkite suggests news organizations slow down in calling elections.
11.27.00
