Revision history for ProcessingElectionResults
Additions:
===Processing Election Results===
**Summary:**
We obtain unofficial election results from either state election offices or reliable news media sources as soon as possible after each election- typically the following morning. In the event that the available election results only cover contested races, we highlight all declared winners and unopposed candidates on the most up-to-date candidate list. If an inadequate percentage of precincts are reporting, a majority is necessary but not reached, or the race is very close (generally 48-52 or closer), we would mark these candidates as “Too Close To Call.” These candidates' statuses are then resolved once we receive certified election results. There is an SQL query written to find all of these elections, and this should be checked regularly so as not to miss any results.
After these results are entered, a staff member checks the data entry on our database, followed by a check on our live website. Finally, an incumbent check is performed to make sure all offices up for election are accounted for. After a primary election, we would make sure that there is the correct number of candidates in the general election. This can occasionally be confusing, as some states have more than one person in each district. Be sure that you check this when processing election results. After the general election, we would make sure that there is one winner for each seat up for election. (Unless it is a multi-member district)
Once we process election results, these candidates are automatically advanced to the next stage of the election. Primary winners are thus designated as general election candidates, while general election winners are designated as elected to office. The only exception to this is Too Close to Call candidates, they must be manually either added to the General election or advanced into office.
**Entering Election Results Procedure:**
**Updating Election Results Procedure (with Updated or Official/Certified Results):**
**Special/Unique Election Results Cases:**
**Summary:**
We obtain unofficial election results from either state election offices or reliable news media sources as soon as possible after each election- typically the following morning. In the event that the available election results only cover contested races, we highlight all declared winners and unopposed candidates on the most up-to-date candidate list. If an inadequate percentage of precincts are reporting, a majority is necessary but not reached, or the race is very close (generally 48-52 or closer), we would mark these candidates as “Too Close To Call.” These candidates' statuses are then resolved once we receive certified election results. There is an SQL query written to find all of these elections, and this should be checked regularly so as not to miss any results.
After these results are entered, a staff member checks the data entry on our database, followed by a check on our live website. Finally, an incumbent check is performed to make sure all offices up for election are accounted for. After a primary election, we would make sure that there is the correct number of candidates in the general election. This can occasionally be confusing, as some states have more than one person in each district. Be sure that you check this when processing election results. After the general election, we would make sure that there is one winner for each seat up for election. (Unless it is a multi-member district)
Once we process election results, these candidates are automatically advanced to the next stage of the election. Primary winners are thus designated as general election candidates, while general election winners are designated as elected to office. The only exception to this is Too Close to Call candidates, they must be manually either added to the General election or advanced into office.
**Entering Election Results Procedure:**
**Updating Election Results Procedure (with Updated or Official/Certified Results):**
**Special/Unique Election Results Cases:**
Deletions:
Summary:
We obtain unofficial election results from either state election offices or reliable news media sources as soon as possible after each election- typically the following morning. In the event that the available election results only cover contested races, we highlight all declared winners and unopposed candidates on the most up-to-date candidate list. If an inadequate percentage of precincts are reporting, a majority is necessary but not reached, or the race is very close (generally 48-52 or closer), we would mark these candidates as Too Close To Call. These candidates' statuses are then resolved once we receive certified election results. There is an SQL query written to find all of these elections, and this should be checked regularly so as not to miss any results. After these results are entered, a staff member checks the data entry on our database, followed by a check on our live website. Finally, an incumbent check is performed to make sure all offices up for election are accounted for. After a primary election, we would make sure that there is the correct number of candidates in the general election. This can occasionally be confusing, as some states have more than one person in each district. Be sure that you check this when processing election results. After the general election, we would make sure that there is one winner for each seat up for election. (Unless it is a multi-member district) Once we process election results, these candidates are automatically advanced to the next stage of the election. Primary winners are thus designated as general election candidates, while general election winners are designated as elected to office. The only exception to this is Too Close to Call candidates, they must be manually either added to the General election or advanced into office.
Entering Election Results Procedure:
Updating Election Results Procedure (with Updated or Official/Certified Results):
Special/Unique Election Results Cases:
Additions:
Special/Unique Election Results Cases:
~1) [[PartyChangesRedistricting Officials Party Changes and Redistricting]]
~1) [[PartyChangesRedistricting Officials Party Changes and Redistricting]]
Additions:
We obtain unofficial election results from either state election offices or reliable news media sources as soon as possible after each election- typically the following morning. In the event that the available election results only cover contested races, we highlight all declared winners and unopposed candidates on the most up-to-date candidate list. If an inadequate percentage of precincts are reporting, a majority is necessary but not reached, or the race is very close (generally 48-52 or closer), we would mark these candidates as Too Close To Call. These candidates' statuses are then resolved once we receive certified election results. There is an SQL query written to find all of these elections, and this should be checked regularly so as not to miss any results. After these results are entered, a staff member checks the data entry on our database, followed by a check on our live website. Finally, an incumbent check is performed to make sure all offices up for election are accounted for. After a primary election, we would make sure that there is the correct number of candidates in the general election. This can occasionally be confusing, as some states have more than one person in each district. Be sure that you check this when processing election results. After the general election, we would make sure that there is one winner for each seat up for election. (Unless it is a multi-member district) Once we process election results, these candidates are automatically advanced to the next stage of the election. Primary winners are thus designated as general election candidates, while general election winners are designated as elected to office. The only exception to this is Too Close to Call candidates, they must be manually either added to the General election or advanced into office.
Deletions:
Additions:
(General Election Only) [[AdvancingElectedtoOffice Advancing Elected Officials into Office]] (Generally more of a Profiles task)
Deletions:
Additions:
We obtain unofficial election results from either state election offices or reliable news media sources as soon as possible after each election- typically the following morning. In the event that the available election results only cover contested races, we highlight all declared winners and unopposed candidates on the most up-to-date candidate list. If an inadequate percentage of precincts are reporting, a majority is necessary but not reached, or the race is very close (generally 48-52 or closer), we would mark these candidates as Too Close To Call. These candidates' statuses are then resolved once we receive certified election results. There is an SQL query written to find all of these elections, and this should be checked regularly so as not to miss any results. After these results are entered, a staff member checks the data entry on our database, followed by a check on our live website. Finally, an incumbent check is performed to make sure all offices up for election are accounted for. After a primary election, we would make sure that there is the correct number of candidates in the general election. This can occasionally be confusing, as some states have more than one person in each district. Be sure that you check this when processing election results. After the general election, we would make sure that there is one winner for each seat up for election. Once we process election results, these candidates are automatically advanced to the next stage of the election. Primary winners are thus designated as general election candidates, while general election winners are designated as elected to office. The only exception to this is Too Close to Call candidates, they must be manually either added to the General election or advanced into office.
Deletions:
Additions:
~1) Check of Election Results in Admin
~1) Final Corrections/Incumbent Check (also: make sure to resolve all Too Close To Call candidates that will not have a runoff election)
~1) Final Corrections/Incumbent Check (also: make sure to resolve all Too Close To Call candidates that will not have a runoff election)
Deletions:
Additions:
[[ElectionResultsManagement Management of Election Results]]
~1) [[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Advancing/Releasing Election Results]] to Live Web
~1) [[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Advancing/Releasing Election Results]] to Live Web
Deletions:
~1) [[[[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Advancing/Releasing Election Results]] to Live Web
Additions:
Entering Election Results Procedure:
~1) [[[[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Advancing/Releasing Election Results]] to Live Web
~1) (if corrections) [[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Re-release Election Results]] to Live Web, [[FinalWebcheckofElectionResults Webcheck (Corrections only)]]
Updating Election Results Procedure (with Updated or Official/Certified Results):
~1) [[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Re-Release Election Results]] to Live Web
~1) [[FinalWebcheckofElectionResults Webcheck of Election Results]]
~1) (if corrections) [[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Re-release Election Results]] to Live Web, [[FinalWebcheckofElectionResults Webcheck (Corrections only)]]
~1) [[[[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Advancing/Releasing Election Results]] to Live Web
~1) (if corrections) [[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Re-release Election Results]] to Live Web, [[FinalWebcheckofElectionResults Webcheck (Corrections only)]]
Updating Election Results Procedure (with Updated or Official/Certified Results):
~1) [[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Re-Release Election Results]] to Live Web
~1) [[FinalWebcheckofElectionResults Webcheck of Election Results]]
~1) (if corrections) [[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Re-release Election Results]] to Live Web, [[FinalWebcheckofElectionResults Webcheck (Corrections only)]]
Deletions:
~1) Advancing Election Results to Live Web
~1) Re-release Election Results to Live Web, Webcheck Changes
Additions:
=====Processing Election Results=====
Deletions:
Additions:
We obtain unofficial election results from either state election offices or reliable news media sources as soon as possible after each election- typically the following morning. In the event that the available election results only cover contested races, we highlight all declared winners and unopposed candidates on the most up-to-date candidate list. If an inadequate percentage of precincts are reporting, a majority is necessary but not reached, or the race is very close, we would mark these candidates as Too Close To Call. These candidates' statuses are then resolved once we receive certified election results. After these results are entered, a staff member checks the data entry on our database, followed by a check on our live website. Finally, an incumbent check is performed to make sure all offices up for election are accounted for. After a primary election, we would make sure that there is one candidate per party, per seat up for election. After the general election, we would make sure that there is one winner for each seat up for election. Once we process election results, these candidates are automatically advanced to the next stage of the election. Primary winners are thus designated as general election candidates, while general election winners are designated as elected to office.
Deletions:
Additions:
~1) [[FinalWebcheckofElectionResults Final Webcheck of Election Results]]
Deletions:
Additions:
When there are multiple primaries in one day, or for a major General Election, processing election results can get a little hectic. See the folder in the QC drive from some tracking sheets and other materials that will make this process easier
~1) 2nd Check of Election Results in Admin
~1) Advancing Election Results to Live Web
~1) [[FinalWebcheckofElectionResults Final Webcheck of Election Results
~1) Final Corrections/Incumbent Check
~1) Re-release Election Results to Live Web, Webcheck Changes
~1) 2nd Check of Election Results in Admin
~1) Advancing Election Results to Live Web
~1) [[FinalWebcheckofElectionResults Final Webcheck of Election Results
~1) Final Corrections/Incumbent Check
~1) Re-release Election Results to Live Web, Webcheck Changes
Deletions:
~1)
~1)
Additions:
Summary:
We obtain unofficial election results from either Secretary of States’ offices or reliable news media sources as soon as possible after each election- typically the following day. In the event that the available election results only cover contested races, we highlight all declared winners and unopposed candidates on the most up-to-date candidate list. If an inadequate percentage of precincts are reporting, a majority is necessary but not reached, or the race is very close, we would mark these candidates as Too Close To Call. These candidates’ statuses are then resolved once we receive certified election results. After these results are entered, a staff member checks the data entry on our database, followed by a check on our live website. Finally, an incumbent check is performed to make sure all offices up for election are accounted for. After a primary election, we would make sure that there is one candidate per party, per seat up for election. After the general election, we would make sure that there is one winner for each seat up for election. Once we process election results, these candidates are automatically advanced to the next stage of the election. Primary winners are thus designated as general election candidates, while general election winners are designated as elected to office.
We obtain unofficial election results from either Secretary of States’ offices or reliable news media sources as soon as possible after each election- typically the following day. In the event that the available election results only cover contested races, we highlight all declared winners and unopposed candidates on the most up-to-date candidate list. If an inadequate percentage of precincts are reporting, a majority is necessary but not reached, or the race is very close, we would mark these candidates as Too Close To Call. These candidates’ statuses are then resolved once we receive certified election results. After these results are entered, a staff member checks the data entry on our database, followed by a check on our live website. Finally, an incumbent check is performed to make sure all offices up for election are accounted for. After a primary election, we would make sure that there is one candidate per party, per seat up for election. After the general election, we would make sure that there is one winner for each seat up for election. Once we process election results, these candidates are automatically advanced to the next stage of the election. Primary winners are thus designated as general election candidates, while general election winners are designated as elected to office.
Additions:
(General Election Only) [[AdvancingElectedtoOffice Advancing Elected Officials into Office]]
Deletions:
Additions:
[[AdvancingElectedtoOffice Advancing Elected Officials into Office]]
Deletions:
Additions:
~1)
~1)
~1)
~1) [[AdvancingElectedtoOffice Advancing Elected Officials into Office]]
~1)
~1)
~1) [[AdvancingElectedtoOffice Advancing Elected Officials into Office]]
Additions:
~1) [[AdvancingElectionResultstotheInternalWeb Advancing Election Results to the Internal Web]]
Deletions:
//Do not, under any circumstances, advance election results unless you are positive that all winners, for all offices and districts up for election (even those unopposed) have been entered as won.// If someone is not marked as won before advancing, they will automatically be marked as lost and no longer show up as an active candidate.
Advancing should generally be reserved for the Quality Control Director, as any error made can screw things up majorly. On [[http://admin.votesmart.org/admin/ Admin]], under "Data," click on "Elections," taking you to the [[https://admin.votesmart.org/admin/elections.do Elections Section of Admin]]. All past elections are included on this list. DO NOT EVER TOUCH PAST ELECTIONS.
Additions:
~1) [[CollectionofElectionResults Collection of Election Results]]
~1) [[DeterminingElectionWinners Determining Election Winners]]
~1) [[EnteringElectionResultsIntoAdmin Entering Election Results Into Admin]]
~1) [[DeterminingElectionWinners Determining Election Winners]]
~1) [[EnteringElectionResultsIntoAdmin Entering Election Results Into Admin]]
Deletions:
[[DeterminingElectionWinners Determining Election Winners]]
==Entering Election Results Into Admin==
~1) On the main page of [[https://admin.votesmart.org/admin/loadSearch.do?dist=election Admin]], look on the left hand side. Under Candidates/Officials there is a link to "Elections." This will take you to the "Elections" page of every candidate that you search for and will save you some time, since you will only be dealing with the "Elections" page.
~1) Go to "by Office Seeking," make sure Active: Now is selected, and go to the first race we cover. Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court.
~1) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
~~If a candidate is not showing up on the list of running candidates: In this instance, you should return to the main search page and search by the candidate’s last name. To avoid dupes (duplicates), it is essential that you NEVER type in a candidate’s first name. If it is a somewhat common last name, feel free to limit the search by state. If multiple people with the same or similar names appear, this is a possible dupe situation, in which case you should either resolve the dupe (if you know how- see wiki page) or write down the candidates’ ID numbers and put it in the Dupe folder. If the candidate you are looking for is still not appearing, inform the Quality Control Director. Instructions for how to add a candidate are also on the wiki.
~1) Once you have the running candidates page up in admin, you’re going to want to go into each candidate’s individual page by clicking on their ID. The beautiful thing about admin is that you do not have to do anything with those that lost the election, they will be marked as such and deactivated automatically once we advance the results. Therefore, when entering election results, you will only be making changes to the winner’s page. Click on "View Stages" for the proper 2008 election, then click on the "General" stage. Under the "General" stage you will change the status from "Running" to "Won." Click Save, close the window for the individual candidate’s page, and return to the "running candidates" page. Repeat this process until all winners for all offices have been accounted for.
~1) Sign and date the appropriate place on the List Activity Log and return it to the "Need to Advance" bin on the Quality Control Director's desk.
Additions:
[[DeterminingElectionWinners Determining Election Winners]]
Deletions:
Election results are funny, crazy, wild things that generally cannot be trusted. For insight into the election laws/madness of your current state, make sure to review that state’s notes in the States Notes excel. Before touching admin, you will be highlighting the winners. Before you dare declare a winner, you must examine several things:
~-how many seats there are per district (found in the document "first/next/last")
~~This will let you know how many winners you need to declare per district. For example, there might be 8 people running for a district that has 5 seats. In this case, you would mark the top 5 vote-getters as won.
~-the percentage of precincts reporting
~~Anything less than 100% means you will have to make a judgment call. If you are uncomfortable in making that call, defer to your Director. If there is an obvious winner with less than 100% of precincts reporting, you can mark that person as having won. If there is a dangerously low % of precincts reporting, or it is not clear who the ultimate winner will be, you will be marking the candidates in question as Too Close To Call until we get updated results. Write that these candidates are Too Close To Call on the Election results, mark those candidates as such in admin (under the appropriate election stage, change the status from "Running" to "Too Close to Call"), and keep the whole list in the Too Close To Call folder so we know to correct these at a later date.
~-how close the race is
~~With 100% of precincts reporting, we will generally consider a race Too Close to Call if the candidates are within 5 points or less than 100 votes. This is not set, however, so if you have trouble making a judgment, consult your director. All Too Close to Call candidates follow the above procedure.
~-if a candidate has a plurality (as in less than 50% of the vote) but not a majority
~~In this case, a runoff may be necessary, depending on the state. Please refer to the "States Notes" excel- if this is not addressed, contact the Secretary of State's office and add this information to States Notes. If a runoff is confirmed, find out when it will be and add it to [[http://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=mc Google Calendar]]. Mark the two candidates in the runoff as Too Close To Call, add the runoff stage to the election on [[https://admin.votesmart.org/admin/elections.do Admin]], add the election stage to the candidates and mark the candidates as running in the runoff.
Deletions:
Unofficial Results
The day after the election, you will want to retrieve Unofficial Election Results. [[http://www.thegreenpapers.com/ The Green Papers]] should be your first stop on your quest for Unofficial Results. They should be able to link you to the best sources available. Results furnished by the Secretary of State's office are preferred, but not all states make them available and sometimes they are not in a very usable format. The second choice would be a respected news media source. Other good sources that cover most races in every state:
~-[[http://www.ncsl.org/ National Conference of State Legislatures]] (also check in the "State Vote" section.)
~-[[http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/index.html The Sun Times]]
~-[[http://www.csg.org/ Council of State Governments]] (while they typically will have every result you'll ever need, they mark the person with the most votes as having won, regardless of whether or not we might think it's Too Close To Call. As such, some of their results turn out to be wrong. This should be used only as a last resort.)
If you cannot find results from any news source or any of the previous links, hold off until something becomes available. You might want to contact the state's election office- they should be able to direct you somewhere. Worse comes to worst, you might have to piece together results from different sources, making sure every office and district is accounted for.
Print off these results and attach/fill-out the appropriate list activity log. Delegate as appropriate.
Official, Certified Election Results
These will be available on the Secretary of State's website. Call the Secretary of State's office to ask when they will be available, and add this date to [[http://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=mc Google Calendar]]. If it is still not appearing on their website within a few days of that date, or it is unclear whether the results on their site are official or not, call the SOS office again.
Once you retrieve these results, print them off and attach/fill-out the appropriate list activity log. Delegate as appropriate.
Additions:
[[CollectionofElectionResults Collection of Election Results]]
Additions:
//Do not, under any circumstances, advance election results unless you are positive that all winners, for all offices and districts up for election (even those unopposed) have been entered as won.// If someone is not marked as won before advancing, they will automatically be marked as lost and no longer show up as an active candidate.
Deletions:
Additions:
//Do not, under any circumstances, advance election results unless you are positive that ALL winners, for ALL offices and districts up for election (even those unopposed) have been entered.// If someone is not marked as won before advancing, they will automatically be marked as lost and no longer show up as an active candidate.
Advancing should generally be reserved for the Quality Control Director, as any error made can screw things up majorly. On [[http://admin.votesmart.org/admin/ Admin]], under "Data," click on "Elections," taking you to the [[https://admin.votesmart.org/admin/elections.do Elections Section of Admin]]. All past elections are included on this list. DO NOT EVER TOUCH PAST ELECTIONS.
Advancing should generally be reserved for the Quality Control Director, as any error made can screw things up majorly. On [[http://admin.votesmart.org/admin/ Admin]], under "Data," click on "Elections," taking you to the [[https://admin.votesmart.org/admin/elections.do Elections Section of Admin]]. All past elections are included on this list. DO NOT EVER TOUCH PAST ELECTIONS.
Deletions:
Additions:
This task should generally be reserved for the Quality Control Director, as any error made can screw things up majorly. On [[http://admin.votesmart.org/admin/ Admin]], under "Data," click on "Elections," taking you to the [[https://admin.votesmart.org/admin/elections.do Elections Section of Admin]].
Deletions:
Additions:
This task should generally be reserved for the Quality Control Director, as any error made can screw things up majorly. On [[http://www.admin.votesmart.org/admin/login Admin]], under "Data," click on "Elections," taking you to the [[https://admin.votesmart.org/admin/elections.do Elections Section of Admin]].
Deletions:
Additions:
This task should generally be reserved for the Quality Control Director, as any error made can screw things up majorly. On [[http://www.admin.votesmart.org/admin/login Admin]]
Deletions:
Additions:
~1) On the main page of [[https://admin.votesmart.org/admin/loadSearch.do?dist=election Admin]], look on the left hand side. Under Candidates/Officials there is a link to "Elections." This will take you to the "Elections" page of every candidate that you search for and will save you some time, since you will only be dealing with the "Elections" page.
This task should generally be reserved for the Quality Control Director, as any error made can screw things up majorly. On [[http://www.admin.votesmart.org/admin Admin]]
This task should generally be reserved for the Quality Control Director, as any error made can screw things up majorly. On [[http://www.admin.votesmart.org/admin Admin]]
Deletions:
This task should generally be reserved for the Quality Control Director, as any error made can screw things up majorly. On [http://www.admin.votesmart.org/admin Admin]
Additions:
This task should generally be reserved for the Quality Control Director, as any error made can screw things up majorly. On [http://www.admin.votesmart.org/admin Admin]
Additions:
If you cannot find results from any news source or any of the previous links, hold off until something becomes available. You might want to contact the state's election office- they should be able to direct you somewhere. Worse comes to worst, you might have to piece together results from different sources, making sure every office and district is accounted for.
Print off these results and attach/fill-out the appropriate list activity log. Delegate as appropriate.
Once you retrieve these results, print them off and attach/fill-out the appropriate list activity log. Delegate as appropriate.
~1) Sign and date the appropriate place on the List Activity Log and return it to the "Need to Advance" bin on the Quality Control Director's desk.
==Advancing Election Results to the Internal Web==
Print off these results and attach/fill-out the appropriate list activity log. Delegate as appropriate.
Once you retrieve these results, print them off and attach/fill-out the appropriate list activity log. Delegate as appropriate.
~1) Sign and date the appropriate place on the List Activity Log and return it to the "Need to Advance" bin on the Quality Control Director's desk.
==Advancing Election Results to the Internal Web==
Deletions:
5- Sign and date the appropriate place on the List Activity Log and return to Kristen.
Additions:
~1) Once you have the running candidates page up in admin, you’re going to want to go into each candidate’s individual page by clicking on their ID. The beautiful thing about admin is that you do not have to do anything with those that lost the election, they will be marked as such and deactivated automatically once we advance the results. Therefore, when entering election results, you will only be making changes to the winner’s page. Click on "View Stages" for the proper 2008 election, then click on the "General" stage. Under the "General" stage you will change the status from "Running" to "Won." Click Save, close the window for the individual candidate’s page, and return to the "running candidates" page. Repeat this process until all winners for all offices have been accounted for.
Deletions:
Additions:
~1) On the main page of admin, look on the left hand side. Under Candidates/Officials there is a link to "Elections." This will take you to the "Elections" page of every candidate that you search for and will save you some time, since you will only be dealing with the "Elections" page.
~1) Go to "by Office Seeking," make sure Active: Now is selected, and go to the first race we cover. Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court.
~1) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
~~If a candidate is not showing up on the list of running candidates: In this instance, you should return to the main search page and search by the candidate’s last name. To avoid dupes (duplicates), it is essential that you NEVER type in a candidate’s first name. If it is a somewhat common last name, feel free to limit the search by state. If multiple people with the same or similar names appear, this is a possible dupe situation, in which case you should either resolve the dupe (if you know how- see wiki page) or write down the candidates’ ID numbers and put it in the Dupe folder. If the candidate you are looking for is still not appearing, inform the Quality Control Director. Instructions for how to add a candidate are also on the wiki.
~1) Go to "by Office Seeking," make sure Active: Now is selected, and go to the first race we cover. Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court.
~1) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
~~If a candidate is not showing up on the list of running candidates: In this instance, you should return to the main search page and search by the candidate’s last name. To avoid dupes (duplicates), it is essential that you NEVER type in a candidate’s first name. If it is a somewhat common last name, feel free to limit the search by state. If multiple people with the same or similar names appear, this is a possible dupe situation, in which case you should either resolve the dupe (if you know how- see wiki page) or write down the candidates’ ID numbers and put it in the Dupe folder. If the candidate you are looking for is still not appearing, inform the Quality Control Director. Instructions for how to add a candidate are also on the wiki.
Deletions:
~1) Go to "by Office Seeking," make sure Active: Now is selected, and go to the first race we cover. Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court. ---
~1) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates. ---
If a candidate is not showing up on the list of running candidates: In this instance, you should return to the main search page and search by the candidate’s last name. To avoid dupes (duplicates), it is essential that you NEVER type in a candidate’s first name. If it is a somewhat common last name, feel free to limit the search by state. If multiple people with the same or similar names appear, this is a possible dupe situation, in which case you should either resolve the dupe (if you know how- see wiki page) or write down the candidates’ ID numbers and put it in the Dupe folder. If the candidate you are looking for is still not appearing, inform the Quality Control Director. Instructions for how to add a candidate are also on the wiki.
Additions:
~1) On the main page of admin, look on the left hand side. Under Candidates/Officials there is a link to "Elections." This will take you to the "Elections" page of every candidate that you search for and will save you some time, since you will only be dealing with the "Elections" page.---
Deletions:
Additions:
~1) On the main page of admin, look on the left hand side. Under Candidates/Officials there is a link to "Elections." This will take you to the "Elections" page of every candidate that you search for and will save you some time, since you will only be dealing with the "Elections" page. ---
~1) Go to "by Office Seeking," make sure Active: Now is selected, and go to the first race we cover. Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court. ---
~1) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates. ---
~1) Go to "by Office Seeking," make sure Active: Now is selected, and go to the first race we cover. Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court. ---
~1) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates. ---
Deletions:
~1) Go to "by Office Seeking," make sure Active: Now is selected, and go to the first race we cover. Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court.
~1) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
No Differences
Additions:
~1) Go to "by Office Seeking," make sure Active: Now is selected, and go to the first race we cover. Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court.
~1) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
~1) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
Deletions:
~3) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
Additions:
~2) Go to "by Office Seeking," make sure Active: Now is selected, and go to the first race we cover. Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court.
~3) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
If a candidate is not showing up on the list of running candidates: In this instance, you should return to the main search page and search by the candidate’s last name. To avoid dupes (duplicates), it is essential that you NEVER type in a candidate’s first name. If it is a somewhat common last name, feel free to limit the search by state. If multiple people with the same or similar names appear, this is a possible dupe situation, in which case you should either resolve the dupe (if you know how- see wiki page) or write down the candidates’ ID numbers and put it in the Dupe folder. If the candidate you are looking for is still not appearing, inform the Quality Control Director. Instructions for how to add a candidate are also on the wiki.
~3) All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
If a candidate is not showing up on the list of running candidates: In this instance, you should return to the main search page and search by the candidate’s last name. To avoid dupes (duplicates), it is essential that you NEVER type in a candidate’s first name. If it is a somewhat common last name, feel free to limit the search by state. If multiple people with the same or similar names appear, this is a possible dupe situation, in which case you should either resolve the dupe (if you know how- see wiki page) or write down the candidates’ ID numbers and put it in the Dupe folder. If the candidate you are looking for is still not appearing, inform the Quality Control Director. Instructions for how to add a candidate are also on the wiki.
Deletions:
Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court.
3- All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
If a candidate is not showing up on the list of running candidates: In this instance, you should return to the main search page and search by the candidate’s last name. To avoid dupes, it is essential that you NEVER type in a candidate’s first name. If it is a somewhat common last name, feel free to limit the search by state. If multiple people with the same or similar names appear, this is a possible dupe situation, in which case you should write down the candidates’ ID numbers and give to Kristen or Aaron. If the candidate you are looking for is still not appearing, please inform Kristen or Aaron.
Additions:
If you cannot find results from any news source or any of the previous links, hold off until something becomes available. You might want to contact the state's election office- they should be able to direct you somewhere. Worse comes to worst, you might have to piece together results from different sources, making sure every office and district is accounted for.
==Entering Election Results Into Admin==
~1) On the main page of admin, look on the left hand side. Under Candidates/Officials there is a link to "Elections." This will take you to the "Elections" page of every candidate that you search for and will save you some time, since you will only be dealing with the "Elections" page.
~1) Go to "by Office Seeking," make sure Active: Now is selected, and go to the first race we cover.
Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court.
3- All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
If a candidate is not showing up on the list of running candidates: In this instance, you should return to the main search page and search by the candidate’s last name. To avoid dupes, it is essential that you NEVER type in a candidate’s first name. If it is a somewhat common last name, feel free to limit the search by state. If multiple people with the same or similar names appear, this is a possible dupe situation, in which case you should write down the candidates’ ID numbers and give to Kristen or Aaron. If the candidate you are looking for is still not appearing, please inform Kristen or Aaron.
4- Once you have the running candidates page up in admin, you’re going to want to go into each candidate’s individual page by clicking on their ID. The beautiful thing about admin is that you do not have to do anything with those that lost the election, they will be marked as such and deactivated automatically once we advance the results. Therefore, when entering election results, you will only be making changes to the winner’s page. Click on "View Stages" for the proper 2008 election, then click on the "General" stage. Under the "General" stage you will change the status from "Running" to "Won." Click Save, close the window for the individual candidate’s page, and return to the "running candidates" page. Repeat this process until all winners for all offices have been accounted for.
5- Sign and date the appropriate place on the List Activity Log and return to Kristen.
==Entering Election Results Into Admin==
~1) On the main page of admin, look on the left hand side. Under Candidates/Officials there is a link to "Elections." This will take you to the "Elections" page of every candidate that you search for and will save you some time, since you will only be dealing with the "Elections" page.
~1) Go to "by Office Seeking," make sure Active: Now is selected, and go to the first race we cover.
Not all states have every office up for election every year, but it is always a good idea to check if we have any candidates in admin for every office PVS covers just in case the results you have are incomplete. The offices we cover are: President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, State Senate, State House, State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, and Judge of the Appellate Court.
3- All the candidates you need to deal with for that office should be on the "running candidates" page. However, this is assuming we have the candidate list right, so it is possible that a candidate will not show up on the list of running candidates.
If a candidate is not showing up on the list of running candidates: In this instance, you should return to the main search page and search by the candidate’s last name. To avoid dupes, it is essential that you NEVER type in a candidate’s first name. If it is a somewhat common last name, feel free to limit the search by state. If multiple people with the same or similar names appear, this is a possible dupe situation, in which case you should write down the candidates’ ID numbers and give to Kristen or Aaron. If the candidate you are looking for is still not appearing, please inform Kristen or Aaron.
4- Once you have the running candidates page up in admin, you’re going to want to go into each candidate’s individual page by clicking on their ID. The beautiful thing about admin is that you do not have to do anything with those that lost the election, they will be marked as such and deactivated automatically once we advance the results. Therefore, when entering election results, you will only be making changes to the winner’s page. Click on "View Stages" for the proper 2008 election, then click on the "General" stage. Under the "General" stage you will change the status from "Running" to "Won." Click Save, close the window for the individual candidate’s page, and return to the "running candidates" page. Repeat this process until all winners for all offices have been accounted for.
5- Sign and date the appropriate place on the List Activity Log and return to Kristen.
Deletions:
Additions:
==Determining Election Winners==
Deletions:
Additions:
~~With 100% of precincts reporting, we will generally consider a race Too Close to Call if the candidates are within 5 points or less than 100 votes. This is not set, however, so if you have trouble making a judgment, consult your director. All Too Close to Call candidates follow the above procedure.
~-if a candidate has a plurality (as in less than 50% of the vote) but not a majority
~~In this case, a runoff may be necessary, depending on the state. Please refer to the "States Notes" excel- if this is not addressed, contact the Secretary of State's office and add this information to States Notes. If a runoff is confirmed, find out when it will be and add it to [[http://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=mc Google Calendar]]. Mark the two candidates in the runoff as Too Close To Call, add the runoff stage to the election on [[https://admin.votesmart.org/admin/elections.do Admin]], add the election stage to the candidates and mark the candidates as running in the runoff.
~-if a candidate has a plurality (as in less than 50% of the vote) but not a majority
~~In this case, a runoff may be necessary, depending on the state. Please refer to the "States Notes" excel- if this is not addressed, contact the Secretary of State's office and add this information to States Notes. If a runoff is confirmed, find out when it will be and add it to [[http://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=mc Google Calendar]]. Mark the two candidates in the runoff as Too Close To Call, add the runoff stage to the election on [[https://admin.votesmart.org/admin/elections.do Admin]], add the election stage to the candidates and mark the candidates as running in the runoff.
Deletions:
~-if a candidate has a plurality (as in less than 50% of the vote) but not a majority, a runoff may be necessary, depending on the state. Please refer to the "States Notes" excel- if this is not addressed or there is a possibility of a runoff, contact the Secretary of State's office and add this information to States Notes.
Additions:
~-if a candidate has a plurality (as in less than 50% of the vote) but not a majority, a runoff may be necessary, depending on the state. Please refer to the "States Notes" excel- if this is not addressed or there is a possibility of a runoff, contact the Secretary of State's office and add this information to States Notes.
Deletions:
Additions:
~-how many seats there are per district (found in the document "first/next/last")
~-the percentage of precincts reporting
~~Anything less than 100% means you will have to make a judgment call. If you are uncomfortable in making that call, defer to your Director. If there is an obvious winner with less than 100% of precincts reporting, you can mark that person as having won. If there is a dangerously low % of precincts reporting, or it is not clear who the ultimate winner will be, you will be marking the candidates in question as Too Close To Call until we get updated results. Write that these candidates are Too Close To Call on the Election results, mark those candidates as such in admin (under the appropriate election stage, change the status from "Running" to "Too Close to Call"), and keep the whole list in the Too Close To Call folder so we know to correct these at a later date.
~-how close the race is
~~with 100% of precincts reporting, we will generally consider a race Too Close to Call if the candidates are within 5 points or less than 100 votes. This is not set, however, so if you have trouble making a judgment, consult your director. All Too Close to Call candidates follow the above procedure.
~-the percentage of precincts reporting
~~Anything less than 100% means you will have to make a judgment call. If you are uncomfortable in making that call, defer to your Director. If there is an obvious winner with less than 100% of precincts reporting, you can mark that person as having won. If there is a dangerously low % of precincts reporting, or it is not clear who the ultimate winner will be, you will be marking the candidates in question as Too Close To Call until we get updated results. Write that these candidates are Too Close To Call on the Election results, mark those candidates as such in admin (under the appropriate election stage, change the status from "Running" to "Too Close to Call"), and keep the whole list in the Too Close To Call folder so we know to correct these at a later date.
~-how close the race is
~~with 100% of precincts reporting, we will generally consider a race Too Close to Call if the candidates are within 5 points or less than 100 votes. This is not set, however, so if you have trouble making a judgment, consult your director. All Too Close to Call candidates follow the above procedure.
Deletions:
-the % of precincts reporting- Anything less than 100% means you will have to make a judgment call. If you are uncomfortable in making that call, consult Kristen or Aaron. If there is an obvious winner with less than 100% of precincts reporting, you can mark that person as having won. If there is a dangerously low % of precincts reporting, or it is not clear who the ultimate winner will be, you will be marking the candidates in question as Too Close To Call until we get updated results. Write that these candidates are Too Close To Call on the Election results, mark those candidates as such in admin (under the election stage "General" change status from "Running" to "Too Close to Call"), and type in their names/offices/districts/parties in the excel file "Elections 2008 recounts_Runoffs_2c2c" so we know to correct it later (found in the public drive’s "General Election 2008" folder).
-how close the race is- with 100% of precincts reporting, we will generally consider a race Too Close to Call if the candidates are within 5 points or less than 100 votes. This is not set, however, so if you have trouble making a judgment, consult Kristen or Aaron. All Too Close to Call candidates follow the above procedure.
Additions:
If you cannot find results from any news source or any of the previous links, hold off until something becomes available. You might want to contact the state's election office- they should be able to direct you somewhere. Worse comes to worst, you might have to piece together results from different sources, making sure every district is accounted for.
These will be available on the Secretary of State's website. Call the Secretary of State's office to ask when they will be available, and add this date to [[http://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=mc Google Calendar]]. If it is still not appearing on their website within a few days of that date, or it is unclear whether the results on their site are official or not, call the SOS office again.
==Evaluating Election Results==
Election results are funny, crazy, wild things that generally cannot be trusted. For insight into the election laws/madness of your current state, make sure to review that state’s notes in the States Notes excel. Before touching admin, you will be highlighting the winners. Before you dare declare a winner, you must examine several things:
~-how many seats there are per district (found in the document "first/next/last").
~~This will let you know how many winners you need to declare per district. For example, there might be 8 people running for a district that has 5 seats. In this case, you would mark the top 5 vote-getters as won.
-the % of precincts reporting- Anything less than 100% means you will have to make a judgment call. If you are uncomfortable in making that call, consult Kristen or Aaron. If there is an obvious winner with less than 100% of precincts reporting, you can mark that person as having won. If there is a dangerously low % of precincts reporting, or it is not clear who the ultimate winner will be, you will be marking the candidates in question as Too Close To Call until we get updated results. Write that these candidates are Too Close To Call on the Election results, mark those candidates as such in admin (under the election stage "General" change status from "Running" to "Too Close to Call"), and type in their names/offices/districts/parties in the excel file "Elections 2008 recounts_Runoffs_2c2c" so we know to correct it later (found in the public drive’s "General Election 2008" folder).
-how close the race is- with 100% of precincts reporting, we will generally consider a race Too Close to Call if the candidates are within 5 points or less than 100 votes. This is not set, however, so if you have trouble making a judgment, consult Kristen or Aaron. All Too Close to Call candidates follow the above procedure.
-if a candidate has a plurality (as in less than 50% of the vote) but not a majority, a runoff may be necessary, depending on the state. Please refer to State Notes- if this is not addressed or there is a possibility of a runoff, please see Kristen or Aaron.
These will be available on the Secretary of State's website. Call the Secretary of State's office to ask when they will be available, and add this date to [[http://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=mc Google Calendar]]. If it is still not appearing on their website within a few days of that date, or it is unclear whether the results on their site are official or not, call the SOS office again.
==Evaluating Election Results==
Election results are funny, crazy, wild things that generally cannot be trusted. For insight into the election laws/madness of your current state, make sure to review that state’s notes in the States Notes excel. Before touching admin, you will be highlighting the winners. Before you dare declare a winner, you must examine several things:
~-how many seats there are per district (found in the document "first/next/last").
~~This will let you know how many winners you need to declare per district. For example, there might be 8 people running for a district that has 5 seats. In this case, you would mark the top 5 vote-getters as won.
-the % of precincts reporting- Anything less than 100% means you will have to make a judgment call. If you are uncomfortable in making that call, consult Kristen or Aaron. If there is an obvious winner with less than 100% of precincts reporting, you can mark that person as having won. If there is a dangerously low % of precincts reporting, or it is not clear who the ultimate winner will be, you will be marking the candidates in question as Too Close To Call until we get updated results. Write that these candidates are Too Close To Call on the Election results, mark those candidates as such in admin (under the election stage "General" change status from "Running" to "Too Close to Call"), and type in their names/offices/districts/parties in the excel file "Elections 2008 recounts_Runoffs_2c2c" so we know to correct it later (found in the public drive’s "General Election 2008" folder).
-how close the race is- with 100% of precincts reporting, we will generally consider a race Too Close to Call if the candidates are within 5 points or less than 100 votes. This is not set, however, so if you have trouble making a judgment, consult Kristen or Aaron. All Too Close to Call candidates follow the above procedure.
-if a candidate has a plurality (as in less than 50% of the vote) but not a majority, a runoff may be necessary, depending on the state. Please refer to State Notes- if this is not addressed or there is a possibility of a runoff, please see Kristen or Aaron.
Deletions:
piece together
unopposed people
If you cannot find results from any news source or any of the previous links, hold off until something becomes available. You might want to contact the state's election office- they should be able to direct you somewhere.
Call the Secretary of State's office to ask when they will be available, and add this date to [[http://googlecalendar.com Google Calendar]]
Additions:
The day after the election, you will want to retrieve Unofficial Election Results. [[http://www.thegreenpapers.com/ The Green Papers]] should be your first stop on your quest for Unofficial Results. They should be able to link you to the best sources available. Results furnished by the Secretary of State's office are preferred, but not all states make them available and sometimes they are not in a very usable format. The second choice would be a respected news media source. Other good sources that cover most races in every state:
~-[[http://www.ncsl.org/ National Conference of State Legislatures]] (also check in the "State Vote" section.)
~-[[http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/index.html The Sun Times]]
~-[[http://www.csg.org/ Council of State Governments]] (while they typically will have every result you'll ever need, they mark the person with the most votes as having won, regardless of whether or not we might think it's Too Close To Call. As such, some of their results turn out to be wrong. This should be used only as a last resort.)
Official, Certified Election Results
Call the Secretary of State's office to ask when they will be available, and add this date to [[http://googlecalendar.com Google Calendar]]
~-[[http://www.ncsl.org/ National Conference of State Legislatures]] (also check in the "State Vote" section.)
~-[[http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/index.html The Sun Times]]
~-[[http://www.csg.org/ Council of State Governments]] (while they typically will have every result you'll ever need, they mark the person with the most votes as having won, regardless of whether or not we might think it's Too Close To Call. As such, some of their results turn out to be wrong. This should be used only as a last resort.)
Official, Certified Election Results
Call the Secretary of State's office to ask when they will be available, and add this date to [[http://googlecalendar.com Google Calendar]]
Deletions:
[[http://www.ncsl.org/ National Council of State Legislatures]] (also check in the "State Vote" section.)
[[http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/index.html The Sun Times]]
[[http://www.csg.org/ Council of State Governments]] (while they typically will have every result you'll ever need, they mark the person with the most votes as having won, regardless of whether or not we might think it's Too Close To Call. As such, some of their results turn out to be wrong. This should be used only as a last resort.)
Additions:
==Collection of Election Results==
For each state's election, you will print out and use 2-3 versions of the election's results: the Unofficial Results retrieved the day after, the Official, Certified Results
piece together
unopposed people
Unofficial Results
The day after the election, you will want to retrieve Unofficial Election Results. [[http://www.thegreenpapers.com/ The Green Papers]] should be your first stop on your quest for Unofficial Results. They should be able to link you to the best sources available. Results furnished by the Secretary of State's office are preferred, but not all states make them available and sometimes they are not in a very usable format. The second choice would be a respected news media source. Other good sources:
[[http://www.ncsl.org/ National Council of State Legislatures]] (also check in the "State Vote" section.)
[[http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/index.html The Sun Times]]
[[http://www.csg.org/ Council of State Governments]] (while they typically will have every result you'll ever need, they mark the person with the most votes as having won, regardless of whether or not we might think it's Too Close To Call. As such, some of their results turn out to be wrong. This should be used only as a last resort.)
If you cannot find results from any news source or any of the previous links, hold off until something becomes available. You might want to contact the state's election office- they should be able to direct you somewhere.
