Poll an All-Nighter

In the Electoral College the vote is not directly proportional. Each state is allocated votes based upon its population. Winner of popular vote=winner of all ECV votes (except Nebraska and Maine) This is why 3rd parties/independents have NO chance- 1992 Ross Perot 19% pop vote but ECVs? Not a sausage.

1st candidate to get 270 ECVs, wins. Sounds simple...
3X the president has won election without winning popular vote- last one being in 2000

ECV Heavy weights are California (55), New York (31) and Texas (34) HOWEVER they have boringly voted the same way (D/D/R) since 1976, Swing states are what you want to watch out for.
Battleground states- these are where battle is actually fought. Historically the friskiest states have been Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. But this year many believe that the election will be fought in the mountain states- Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico

What channel shall I watch?
Sky- have created own mini White House in Biscayne Bay, Miami. 54 ft yacht, loads of special guests. Live coverage 11pm-6am with key reporters in D/R camps and battleground states

BBC- Dimbleby joins BBC America anchor Matt Frei for live coverage 11.15am-6am. They will also have detailed analysis from Jeremy Vine and ABC former anchor Ted Koppel. They will have reporters in swing states, with bloggers in Times Sq and John Simpson will be charting black reaction

ITV- Trevor McDonald will introduce proceedings with the News at 10 and live coverage will begin from midnight. Principal coverage will come from Washington Correspondent John Irvine, International editor Bill Neely and senior correspondent James Mates.

CNN are holding (in their words) "The most demanding and technological production" it has ever staged. There will be minute by minute reportage with John King. He will use a "magic wall" to break down data from key states.

Staffing numbers-
BBC- 50 permanent +125
ITV 15-20
Sky 40

Your Guide to Election Night (timings based on 2004)
11pm- coverage starts but nothing much happens for awhile so kick back and decide who you are backing- McCain or Obama? If you are going red, have a tipple of McCain’s favourite tipple: Stoli vodka. If you are going blue then unfortunately Obama’s favourite drink is water. Bad luck.

1.20am North Carolina
ECV- 15
Polls-Toss up
2004 R
Demo- 74% W 22%B
Important info- Hasn’t gone D since 1976, Economy and black vote, could be state that decides if Obama wins easily
Eat: Sweet potato chips

1.40am Virginia
• ECV 13
• Polls- D leaning
• 2004 R
• Demo- 73% W 20% B
• Important info- Traditional R but gradual shift seen in 2006 senate race, Northern Liberals, last time state went D was 1964
• Eat: peanuts and maybe have a cigarette if that is your thing

2am New York
• ECV- 31
• Democrat state
• Eat/Drink: Long Island Iced Tea and a bagel with a schmear

Texas
• ECV-34
• Republican big hitter
• Eat- BBQ chicken- finger lickin' good

3.16am- Missouri
• ECV 17
• Polls-D solid
• 2004- D
• Demo W 84% B11%
• Important info- Has voted with presidency in every election bar one since 1900. High turnout for D primary and BO hails from neighbouring Illinois
• Drink- copious amounts of Budweiser

3.40am – Pennsylvania
• ECV-21
• Polls- D solid
• 2004- D
• Demo- W 84% B 10%
• Important info- BO lost to HC by 10 points in primary- blue collar workers. He needs to appeal to urbanites as Mc will win in rural areas
• Eat- have a slice of shoofly pie (treacle tart)

4am California-
• ECV- a greedy 55
• A democrat safeseat
• Drink- open a bottle of Jacob's Creek

4.22am- Colorado
• ECV 9
• Polls- D leaning
• 2004- R
• Demo- W 74.5% B 3.8%
• Important info- D convention held here, Big D win for Dem Governor Bill Ritter 2006. BUT McCain comes from neighbouring Arizona
• Drink- time for another brewski? Make it a Coors

5.27am Florida
• ECV 27
• Polls- Toss up
• 2004- R
• Demo-65.4% W, 14.6% B
• Important info- OB has lead despite lack of campaigning for primary. Ghost of voting debacle 2000
• Eat- If you have room, cut a slice of key lime pie

6am- Ohio
• ECV 20
• Polls- D leaning
• 2004- R
• Demo 84% W, 10% B
• Important info- Major battleground in 2004, McC- huge appeal in south but Reps have faced scandal in state. OB needs to tackle blue collar workers and opposition to free trade agreement he has endorsed
• Drink: Breakfast time! Nurse the hangover with a bloody mary- tomato juice is Ohio's state beverage

You may need to go to work now…

4.34pm Nevada
• ECV- 5
• Polls- Dem leaning
• 2004 R
• Demo- 65% W, 6.8% B, Hispanic 19.7%
• Important info- BO is counting on influx of outsiders- 10% population increase in last 3 years. Latinos like McC’s moderation on immigration. Deciding factor could be stance on proposed nuclear site at Yacca Mountain. McC for, BO against

Another important state that didn’t call before Bush reached 270 in 2004
New Mexico
• ECV 5
• Polls D leaning
• 2004 D
• Demo- 44% W, 1.9% B and 42.1% Hispanic
• Important info- part of the trio of mountain states set to decide election. Famous for recent nailbiters- Bush won by 6000 votes in 2000 and Kerry won by 600 in 2004. Both candidates believe they have advantage- McC due to Arizona roots and Bo because of his endorsement from popular state governor Bill Richardson
• Drink- Hair of dog? Grab a bottle of Sol and stick a wedge of lime in it

What do you do if you want to go to bed before 6am?
New Hampshire may only have 4ECVs but it has historically been a good indicator of the eventual winner
The other theory goes, if one candidate wins Florida (27), Pennsylvania (21), Ohio(20), North Carolina(15) and Virginia(13) then they are a pretty safe bet!