1. AP ELECTIONS: OVERVIEW

2. THE ONLY SOURCE FOR ALL ELECTION RESULTS – AP is the only source of national election results – AP provides members and other customers with a variety of election results – AP delivers results to a variety of platforms – AP covers federal, state and local races and issues

3. AP ELECTIONS After the polls close…

4. A LONG HISTORY, WIDE SCOPE – Reputation for speed, accuracy and thoroughness for more than 160 years – AP tabulates nearly 7,000 races in more than 4,600 reporting units in a national general election – AP tabulates virtually every statewide primary and general election as well many other elections

5. OUR VALUES AND PRIORITIES – Number one priority is accuracy – Record is rather incredible in this regard. Sometimes accuracy means being cautious and waiting – AP does not ‘call’ races on election night until the poll closing time has passed for all involved counties –Respect and appreciate the incredible work of state and local election officials

6. HOW DO WE DO IT? OUR ASSETS INCLUDE: – Experienced staff – Sophisticated tools – A proven election tabulation system – Stringers in every county – Help from county election officials – Professional call centers – Other resources and safeguards – Teamwork and communication

7. EXPERIENCED STAFF – AP has bureaus in every state – A full time election research/quality control group – Election coordinators, stringer coordinators and researchers. Some have more than 20 years experience – AP hosts a series of training sessions for race callers

8. A HUGE NETWORK OF LOCAL STRINGERS – AP hires local stringers to be our eyes and ears at each reporting unit location –For the presidential election will have more than 5,000 people were working on our election operation – AP stringers are given access and vote updates from election officials in each reporting unit

9. PROFESSIONALLY RUN CALL CENTERS  Experienced center management & supervisors  AP’s center staff work every election night  AP conducts rehearsals for major elections

10. VERIFICATION – Vote entry before polls closed – Positive non-absentee tally and no precincts – Too few votes per precinct – Lead change – Tie for lead greater than the change in party preference – Absentee method – Large/small race with few/many precincts – Various vote drop sizes for major/minor candidates – Drops in absentee/precincts reporting –Total absentee tally more than Maximum absentees allowed –Registration changed during vote entry Candidate's percentage changed –Non-absentee votes added but no added precincts –All precincts reporting in first report Declared winner no longer leading Precincts too low/high per candidate –Votes too low/high per candidate –Absentees too low/high per candidate We have automated vote verifications that check for:

11. RACE CALLS – AP has race callers assigned to every state –Typically bureau chiefs or other AP managers with years of experience – AP hosts a series of training sessions for race callers – Preparation is the key –Know the state –Know what to expect –Know the absentee/early and provisional voting history; recent election law changes

12. WHAT’S DIFFERENT IN 2012? – Only one party held a presidential primary nominating process. – GOP changed from a mostly winner-take-all system to proportional allocation of delegates. – Largest difference is how newsrooms process a dynamic data feed like election returns. –Old way is too cumbersome, requiring too much processing time. –Thinner packets, APIs, AP-Google Maps –Mobile, Mobile, Mobile –Tablets –HTML

13. May 2012ASSOCIATED PRESS13 MOBILE FOR SMART AND NOT-SO SMART PHONES

14. EXAMPLES May 2012ASSOCIATED PRESS14 ROAD TO 270 http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/roadto270/ CANDIDATE TRACKER http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/cms/ CAMPAIGN FINANCE http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2011/campaign-financehttp://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2011/campaign-finance/ AP’s NATIONAL DELEGATE TRACKER http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/delegate-tracker/ AP’S INSTAGRAM PROJECT http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/instagram-campaign-trail

15. May 2012ASSOCIATED PRESS15