Where Can I Watch Election Results

[Hash]

In 2014, Colombia counted all the votes in the presidential runoff election within 60 minutes or something like that. Brazil also counts very quickly on the same night. Several countries counted and announce every election result in the same night.

[Torie]

Keep in mind that unlike practically everywhere else, unless they've changed it, the U.K does not release partial election results, but only announces the result when all the polls have have been counted. All the candidates appear on a stage together when the results are announced.  This has made for some amusing television seeing some of the candidates of the Monster Raving Loony Party on the stage.

My recollection is that sometimes the ongoing vote count, or some approximation thereof, is leaked to the press by someone monitoring the count for one party or another.

[rpryor03]

You can stream CSPAN if you're in the US. C-SPAN will be showing the ITV coverage.

[Famous Mortimer]

ITV? Gross. Is there some law that the BBC can't be run on other channels?

[Linus Van Pelt]

Is the UK the only country that does it that way? I wonder why it never caught on (or if it did, why it was eventually replaced) in Canada and Australia, for instance. It definitely makes for great viewing seeing all the candidates stand together, but it can also make watching the results kind of anti-climactic.

Interesting question. I don't know the answer to this, but presumably it dates to when the secret ballot was introduced in the late 19th century (with public balloting of course you can't wait to announce until they're all counted). My guess would be that it has to do with travel times. The thing about the UK is that the ballot boxes are physically transported to a central location before counting - but this would be logistically kind of nuts in 1870's Canada or Australia.

[ObserverIE]

Is the UK the only country that does it that way? I wonder why it never caught on (or if it did, why it was eventually replaced) in Canada and Australia, for instance. It definitely makes for great viewing seeing all the candidates stand together, but it can also make watching the results kind of anti-climactic.

Ireland and, I think, Malta do it in the same way.

In Ireland there are unofficial (but highly accurate) voting figures tallied by voting precinct, by means of party election workers standing beside the votes for each ballot box as the number of votes cast in each is verified; each box has a pair of workers, one calling out the first preference on each ballot and the other marking it on a preformatted tally sheet. (This is a co-operative enterprise involving tallyers from all parties; my impression is that inter-party relations in the UK wouldn't be conducive to this.) The aggregate results are released to the media, and in many constituencies the ballot box-by-ballot box figures are released to the local media.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

My recollection is that sometimes the ongoing vote count, or some approximation thereof, is leaked to the press by someone monitoring the count for one party or another.

Sometimes agents talk to the press and tell them what they think is happening, and usually they aren't far wrong. But sometimes they are. In particularly always be suspicious of very early rumours.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Is the UK the only country that does it that way? I wonder why it never caught on (or if it did, why it was eventually replaced) in Canada and Australia, for instance. It definitely makes for great viewing seeing all the candidates stand together, but it can also make watching the results kind of anti-climactic.

Interesting question. I don't know the answer to this, but presumably it dates to when the secret ballot was introduced in the late 19th century (with public balloting of course you can't wait to announce until they're all counted). My guess would be that it has to do with travel times. The thing about the UK is that the ballot boxes are physically transported to a central location before counting - but this would be logistically kind of nuts in 1870's Canada or Australia.

The trouble with the British method is that it sadly means we get no data below constitiency, which is very sad for map-lovers.

[rpryor03]

ITV? Gross. Is there some law that the BBC can't be run on other channels?

There are places that will stream it, but you have to search for them.

[Barnes]

In 2014, Colombia counted all the votes in the presidential runoff election within 60 minutes or something like that. Brazil also counts very quickly on the same night. Several countries counted and announce every election result in the same night.

For my part, I was only talking about elections for the legislative branch.  It is a pretty high achievement to have 650 races all tallied on the same night.  Of course, there may be other examples of which I am unaware, and I would be perfectly happy to revise my earlier assumption.

[Lief 🗽]

ITV? Gross. Is there some law that the BBC can't be run on other channels?

Cspan streamed BBC in 2010, so not sure why they switched. But yeah, ITV is terrible. I'm sure it won't be difficult to find a BBC stream of questionable legality though.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

ITV's election night coverage is generally not absolutely terrible. Basically they're a bit quicker on results but a bit weaker on analysis. The best thing to do is to flick between channels.

[Barnes]

ITV's election night coverage is generally not absolutely terrible. Basically they're a bit quicker on results but a bit weaker on analysis. The best thing to do is to flick between channels.

There's an excellent TV special on YouTube that compares the election coverage by the two networks since the '50s. They've both certainly had their highs and lows.

[Famous Mortimer]

ITV's election night coverage is generally not absolutely terrible. Basically they're a bit quicker on results but a bit weaker on analysis. The best thing to do is to flick between channels.

I actually know nothing about ITV's news coverage. I just know that the channel in general has never produced any sitcoms worth illegally downloading.

[Barnes]

ITV's election night coverage is generally not absolutely terrible. Basically they're a bit quicker on results but a bit weaker on analysis. The best thing to do is to flick between channels.

There's an excellent TV special on YouTube that compares the election coverage by the two networks since the '50s. They've both certainly had their highs and lows.

Here we go: http://youtu.be/wfgeCFWb8KA

Admittedly, a bit old, but it's still quite interesting.

[cinyc]

ITV? Gross. Is there some law that the BBC can't be run on other channels?

Cspan streamed BBC in 2010, so not sure why they switched. But yeah, ITV is terrible. I'm sure it won't be difficult to find a BBC stream of questionable legality though.

BBC World News has more cable and satellite penetration in the U.S. now than it did in 2010.  That channel will be showing results on election night.  They probably don't want to cannibalize BBC WN network viewers by also placing the same programming on C-Span.

[Oak Hills]

ITV? Gross. Is there some law that the BBC can't be run on other channels?

Cspan streamed BBC in 2010, so not sure why they switched. But yeah, ITV is terrible. I'm sure it won't be difficult to find a BBC stream of questionable legality though.

BBC World News has more cable and satellite penetration in the U.S. now than it did in 2010.  That channel will be showing results on election night.  They probably don't want to cannibalize BBC WN network viewers by also placing the same programming on C-Span.

They also showed BBC coverage for the Scottish referendum, and I was only able to get it on my TV because of that.  (BBC WN is available from my provider, but not in the package my family has.)  So that makes sense, but it seems strange that they would've changed between last September and now.

EDIT: Not to mention I had no trouble getting the coverage on BBC's website.

[Linus Van Pelt]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31FFTx6AKmU

[Kushahontas]

bbc one live stream: http://www.time4tv.com/2011/06/bbc-one.php

[Vega]

Why in the blue heck would C-Span switch to ITV? That makes no sense... you would think it would be easier to get the "rights" - if they're are any - from BBC.

[Famous Mortimer]

David Mitchell and Jeremy Paxman are doing the Channel 4 election night coverage. It's really no competition.

[cinyc]

Why in the blue heck would C-Span switch to ITV? That makes no sense... you would think it would be easier to get the "rights" - if they're are any - from BBC.

Who knows?  I do know that A&E Networks recently took over carriage negotiations for BBC World News, giving the channel additional leverage to get on cable and satellite TV as part of the renegotiations to carry A&E.  BBC might not want to provide for free what's going to be on BBC World News to those who aren't paying to get the network anymore.

[136or142]

What time PDT do the polls close?

[andrew_c]

What time PDT do the polls close?

2pm

[136or142]

Thanks!