Tonight's Election: Back To The Bad Old Days Of Reporting Returns

[Joseph_Gallant]

Prior to the 2004 national elections, a court in British Columbia struck down a law that banned Canadian news organizations from publishing or broadcasting results of national elections from areas where polls had closed in areas where polls were still open.

But last May, the British Columbia Court Of Appeals overturned the lower court, so as a result, tonight's (January 23rd) election-night has gone back to the "bad old days" when results could not be published or broadcast in areas where polls were still open.

The CBC and others tried to appeal to suspend the rule until after the election, but they were turned-down. The Supreme Court Of Canada will likely make a final ruling, but unless they make an emergency ruling in the next few hours, and I have heard nothing to suggest that a request for such a ruling has or could be made, the embargo will be in place for tonight's election.

However, most polls will close at 9:30 P.M. EST (polls in Newfoundland will close at 7 P.M. EST, in the Maritimes at 7:30 P.M., and in British Columbia and the Yukon at 10 P.M. EST). CBC and CTV will begin election coverage in most areas at 9:30 EST, with Global starting in most areas at 9 EST. Chances are that they won't be able to make an exit poll projection on what party (if any) has a majority or report actual results outside of those from Newfoundland and the Maritimes until 10 P.M. EST anyway.

In the Maritimes, CBC, CTV and Global could locally put returns visually on-screen before 10 P.M. EST since there in fact will be actual returns from those areas, while on-the-air, reporters are still in a "preview" mode.

This is a link to a page on CBC's website explaining why the network (and other Canadian news organizations) cannot report results on-air until polls close or on the Internet until all Canadian polls have closed.

For Canada's television news organizations, this may not be the only national election they will have to cover this year. Should today's election result in a minority government with no party getting more than about 30-35% of the seats in Parliament, the new Parliament would be a very fragile coalition that probably won't last more than a few months. That could result in Canada very well having a second national election this year.

 

[Joe_Capitano]

Ah, yes. Wouldn't it be nice if electing a President followed the Parliamentary model? Then those "electoral votes" might actually be meaningful.

Worth noting: back in 2000 when the blackout rule was last in effect, things worked quite well. BC and the Yukon joined in with counts from 171 ridings on the board (CBC count). About 25 minutes later, with the whole of the nation watching, the CBC called a Liberal Majority.

BTW: C-SPAN is carrying the CBC's uninterrupted coverage from 9:30 PM ET, but they may not have access to hard returns until 10 PM. I expect a call somewhere between 10:30 and 11 PM ET unless it's a real squeaker, but I'm not confident there will be a Majority. CBC's show will come from a gussied-up Barbara Frum Atrium at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto, a change in venue from the Hall of Honor on Parliament Hill where the last three elections were reported from.

Though they've budgeted three hours of simulcasting, it's my hope C-SPAN won't pull away without giving the party leaders a chance to speak, and that will likely extend beyond 1 AM ET. At the last British Election, C-SPAN didn't even have the courtesy of staying with the BBC until "the post" had been reached. Thankfully, there was an internet feed from the BBC.

Speaking of, while CTV has its "Mini/Max" board, it's too bad none of the Canadian nets employs a "swingometer" like the BBC's. It would be interesting to see what would be necessary to avoid a hung parilament.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Joe Capitano writes:

> Speaking of, while CTV has its "Mini/Max" board, it's too
> bad none of the Canadian nets employs a "swingometer" like
> the BBC's. It would be interesting to see what would be
> necessary to avoid a hung parilament.

I'd like to see NBC adopt a Swingometer during this coming November's midterm elections for the House and Senate. I think Tim Russert would enjoy using it!

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Joe Capitano noted:

> Worth noting: back in 2000 when the blackout rule was last
> in effect, things worked quite well. BC and the Yukon joined
> in with counts from 171 ridings on the board (CBC count).
> About 25 minutes later, with the whole of the nation
> watching, the CBC called a Liberal Majority.

If the Canadian Supreme Court upholds the election results embargo, there is something CBC, CTV, Global, et. al. can do to circumvent these restrictions next time: Convince election authorities in all provinces to have the polls close at the same time: 11:30 P.M. NT, 11 P.M. AT, 10 P.M. ET, 9 P.M. CT, 8 P.M. MT, and 7 P.M. PT. This way, with all the polls throughout Canada closing at the very same time, the embargo is circumvented because there would be no areas where polls are still open and thus, would face an embargo of election returns.

Under such a scenario, CBC could start at 9:30 P.M. ET with Peter Mansbridge and Company using the first half-hour to preview what might happen, then count down to 10 P.M. ET. CTV and Global could likewise have a preview at 9:30 ET or wait until a couple of minutes before 10 ET to start their election-night broadcasts and be on the air so they could announce exit-poll results seconds after the polls close should exit-polls indicate a winner.

Then at 10 P.M. Eastern, Mansbridge on CBC, Lloyd Robertson on CTV, and Kevin Newman on Global, could announce something like "In just a few seconds, every polling place across Canada will close. Once they do, should our exit polls be able to project a winner, we'll be able to announce it...(pause for a few seconds to show the clock tower on Parliament Hill hit 10 P.M. with the chimes heard to indicate the hour)....You've heard the chimes of the clock tower at Parliament Hill indicating that it's 10 P.M. Eastern. Just seconds ago, all the polls across Canada closed and based on exit polls, (Name of network) can announce that (Name of party) has won a majority in the next Parliament with (Number of seats)".

Especially with most of the polls closing at 9:30 P.M. ET (with those in British Columbia and the Yukon closing at 10 P.M. ET), I feel the embargo no longer serves any useful purpose. If the courts don't lift it, perhaps Canada's broadcasters should instead push for every polling place in the country to close at the same instant. That would be a good compromise, given the circumstances.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

The problem being that 7pm isn't enough time for people to get to a poll after work or what ever...

> If the Canadian Supreme Court upholds the election results
> embargo, there is something CBC, CTV, Global, et. al. can do
> to circumvent these restrictions next time: Convince
> election authorities in all provinces to have the polls
> close at the same time: 11:30 P.M. NT, 11 P.M. AT, 10 P.M.
> ET, 9 P.M. CT, 8 P.M. MT, and 7 P.M. PT. This way, with all
> the polls throughout Canada closing at the very same time,
> the embargo is circumvented because there would be no areas
> where polls are still open and thus, would face an embargo
> of election returns.
>
> Under such a scenario, CBC could start at 9:30 P.M. ET with
> Peter Mansbridge and Company using the first half-hour to
> preview what might happen, then count down to 10 P.M. ET.
> CTV and Global could likewise have a preview at 9:30 ET or
> wait until a couple of minutes before 10 ET to start their
> election-night broadcasts and be on the air so they could
> announce exit-poll results seconds after the polls close
> should exit-polls indicate a winner.
>
> Then at 10 P.M. Eastern, Mansbridge on CBC, Lloyd Robertson
> on CTV, and Kevin Newman on Global, could announce something
> like "In just a few seconds, every polling place across
> Canada will close. Once they do, should our exit polls be
> able to project a winner, we'll be able to announce
> it...(pause for a few seconds to show the clock tower on
> Parliament Hill hit 10 P.M. with the chimes heard to
> indicate the hour)....You've heard the chimes of the clock
> tower at Parliament Hill indicating that it's 10 P.M.
> Eastern. Just seconds ago, all the polls across Canada
> closed and based on exit polls, (Name of network) can
> announce that (Name of party) has won a majority in the next
> Parliament with (Number of seats)".
>
> Especially with most of the polls closing at 9:30 P.M. ET
> (with those in British Columbia and the Yukon closing at 10
> P.M. ET), I feel the embargo no longer serves any useful
> purpose. If the courts don't lift it, perhaps Canada's
> broadcasters should instead push for every polling place in
> the country to close at the same instant. That would be a
> good compromise, given the circumstances.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
"If you never say NO, How much is your YES worth?"
</P>