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

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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