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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

What to Expect When Expecting Election Results

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Tuesday, November 3, 2020   

VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Americans are preparing for a prolonged period of uncertainty after the polls close today. Experts expect it could take days or weeks to determine who has won the presidential race, as well as many other races down the ballot.

Michael Caulfield, director of blended and networked learning at Washington State University-Vancouver, co-authored an analysis of what to expect on Election Night and the days after with his colleagues at the University of Washington and Stanford.

"When people face uncertainty, they go out and they try to find information," Caulfield said. "And if there's not enough information out there that meets that need from reliable sources, sometimes they fall prey to these less reliable sources that are out there trying to spin it, trying to frame it."

He said it will be important for journalists not to amplify premature declarations of victory. And he stressed that uncertainty does not mean illegitimacy.

Caulfield said some reports on social media tonight and in the coming days are meant to outrage people and will lack important context. But, he said, there are effective and ineffective ways to push back on these stories.

"A lot of people think that fighting misinformation online has to look like arguing with someone. You know, someone posts something and you have an argument," he said. "And really, that's one of the least effective ways to deal with misinformation online."

To better counteract misinformation, Caulfield suggests amplifying insights from experts who study elections closely.

"You should be seeking out people that didn't come to this particular subject a year ago, two years ago or three months ago. You should be seeking out people that have a real depth of expertise in this and are really staking their reputation on getting it right," he said.

More information and the full report is available here.


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