...was the media was getting their info from VNS, an exit polling business, not the FEC. While the info was not representative at the times it was sent to the media, it was being done by an independent organization. I'm fairly sure that the FEC doesn't release final election results until ballot counts have been made and confirmed, with the necessary stipulations concerning other possible factors that could affect the true final outcome like absentee ballot counts, as they should.

Overall, this system works pretty good Thom. This time, the media jumped the gun twice in the same night. They have egg ALL over their faces, and should be very reluctant to make such early predictions in the future.

....I wouldn't have any problem with withholding predictions or actual results until ALL of the polls are closed, but the only way that I could see that happening that would protect both the 1st amendment and not interfere with people who haven't yet voted in different time zones would be to set the times that the polls are open to be time-zone relative (i.e., east coast voters could vote between 5:00 AM and 5:00 PM, west coast voters could vote between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM) AAAND offer all voters the option of voting early in person or by absentee ballot. Hawaii and Guam would be difficult to figure into this, maybe start them twelve hours earlier, I donno.

.....just some of my thoughts in how to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Bob