In the three states of the Northwest, the magic – or witching – hour is 8 p.m. That’s when the polls close and, soon after, numbers start to roll. (In Idaho, where most people are in Mountain Time, numbers usually do not much roll until
9 p.m. Mountain time, in consideration for the people up north whose voting deadline is an hour later.)
We will, of course, be getting a sense of the national trends before that, since many eastern polls will be closing around 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. Northwest time.
Expect that Oregon numbers will be among the first out; its vote counting procedures allow the count to begin on Tuesday well before the polls close. (And remember, only ballot in the hands of county officials by 8 p.m. today will count – in contrast to Washington, where a Tuesday postmark traditionally has sufficed.) Of some interest: With its new heavy reliance on mail voting, how early will be the Washington votes?
Of course, be sure to check back here: As per usual, we will be tracking results mostly on line. In between a short TV appearance and a stop at a political event, our regular stops this evening will include:
IDAHO
- The Secretary of State’ s office did a fine job of updating on primary election night; it’s our top stop in the Gem State.
- KTVB-TV traditionally has some of the best and fastest election night results in the state.
- The Idaho Statesman will have information posted on its front page.
- In eastern Idaho, try KIFI-TV.
OREGON
- The Secretary of State’s office figures to start posting results within minutes after 8 p.m.
- The Oregonian has what looks to be a first-class Elections Central page.
- For the Eugene area, try the Register-Guard or KEZI-TV.
WASHINGTON
- The Secretary of State’s office will begin posting soon after polls close. Up to midnight or so, this was among the fastest reporters of results in the region in the primary and in 2004.
- Seattle Times politics 2006 page (and its link to David Postman’s blog)
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer politics 2006 page (and note the political blog link)
- What the Spokane Spokesman-Review will place outside its pay wall is unclear; for a start, we’ll check in with Dave Oliveria’s Huckleberries.
- Spokane alternatives: KXLY-TV and KHQ-TV.
A VIEW FROM CONGRESS Also, this could be interesting: Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) says he plans to blog regularly during election night. Could be interesting to pull the take from his angle.
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