While elections may bring out the worst in politicians, they bring out the best in technology. With this year’s hotly contested presidential race expected to come down to the wire, new technologies are taking the stage to help Americans get all the information they need. Both on TV and on the net, technology might be the real winner this election.
Since U.S. elections have become a ratings juggernaut on par with the Olympics (or at least “Dancing with the Stars”), election-coverage innovations are getting a boost on the tube this year. In 2004, nearly 64 million viewers tuned in to follow election results on network or cable TV. With this year’s presidential race drawing greater interest as the economy continues to falter, those numbers are expected to be even higher. To help draw in viewers, news programs have called upon several innovative new technologies. For example, CNN plans to air “holographic interviews” during their election coverage. Using 44 cameras and 20 computers at various interview locations, the network will project interviewees into the studios to make it appear as if people like Wolf Blitzer are actually interviewing them face to face. Meanwhile, other channels will be employing technology to take advantage of high definition – which provides greater screen space since the image is rectangular rather than square. Fox News has built three new HD studios specifically for election coverage, and a giant wall with touch-screen technology will provide electoral map results. ABC, NBC and CBS all will also use new digital technology to display and breakdown detailed results from the nation’s state, regional and county elections.
But a lot more people will be getting their election results from the Web this year – and local TV stations are prepared for that too. Internet Broadcasting (IB), the leading Internet solution provider for local broadcast publishers and advertisers, announced last week plans for its comprehensive election-night package – which includes the fastest-available, most up-to-date result feeds. For IB’s network of hosted local television stations, tally results will be updated every 3 to 7 minutes. IB also will provide stations with national presidential results maps breaking down each state by popular vote and Electoral College counts. Additionally, an interactive flash feature will showcase the real-time balance of power in the Senate and House of Representatives. Of course, before voters get their results, they first need to make their voices heard – which is where a Web site called whereivote.com comes into play. The innovative Web portal created by Aristotle International, a non-partisan election technology provider, offers voters a convenient means of checking their voter registration, finding polling locations, viewing ballot information or learning more about candidates and initiatives. In fact, just this past weekend, Aristotle International added 8,000 more state and national candidate profiles to the site.
While such inventive new technology will make it easier than ever for voters to get election information, many people are more concerned about the technology being used at the polls. Since the 2000 election (whose actual result we’ll never know), voters have become increasingly mistrustful of how votes are recorded. Making matters worse is the fact that there is no universal voting technology for all 50 states. Some states (or counties for that matter) tally votes through one machine while others use different or more advanced systems. With such an essential aspect of our democratic nation in question, it’s amazing no one has done more to create a nationwide uniform voting technology. In a race for president that could easily come down to a handful of votes, miscounted or uncounted votes could have a significant impact. While that possibility lurks ominously, it shouldn’t keep anyone from heading out to the polls and voting. Not sure where? Check out whereivote.com.
