Only two weeks remain until Election Day.
I was reminded today by someone on the radio that the 2020 election was only called on Saturday Nov. 5— four days after Election Day (Tuesday Nov. 1).
Written for deadline.com by Ted Johnson and Dominic Patten on Nov 7, 2020:
After days of wait over a seemingly glacial pace of ballot counting, CNN‘s Wolf Blitzer called the presidential race for Joe Biden at 11:24:20 AM ET, the first of the networks to declare the winner.
“After four long tense days, we have reached a historic moment in this election,” Blitzer said. “We can now project the winner of the presidential race.”
What triggered it? The latest report of votes coming in from Pennsylvania, which put Biden’s margin over Trump at more than 30,000. Although the trendlines have been in Biden’s direction, network decision desks had been reluctant to make the call until they could better discern the remaining vote.
Analyst Van Jones broke down in tears. “It’s easier to be a parent this morning. It’s easier to be a dad. It’s easier to tell your kids, character matters. It matters. Telling the truth matters.”