WASHINGTON – The media declared former vice president Joe Biden the winner of the Virginia and North Carolina primaries on Tuesday when polling stations in those states closed before results were officially released. which prompted many social media outlets to call a race with 0% of the vote.
“How can they call the states with a 0% ratio?” asked actress Katy Stoll on Twitter.
On Saturday, the phrase “with 0%” was in vogue on Twitter after several media declared the former Biden winner of the The South Carolina primary is solely based on an exit poll that showed him the overwhelming winner.
The early call angered many supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders, who finished far behind in South Carolina.
But there was nothing unusual in the first calls.
News organizations issued the calls based on exit polls that showed Biden an insurmountable lead in both cases. Although these polls have a high margin of error, the difference between Biden and Sanders was so dramatic in these races that news agencies felt comfortable calling the race early based on these results.
However, Sanders supporters were scandalized on Saturday.
“Hey look, NYT says Joe Biden won South Carolina with 0% of the ridings declared!” Tweeted actress Cynthia Nixon, a 2018 New York failed and progressive governor candidate who endorsed Sanders.
Several Sanders supporters said the call indicated new media plot against the self-proclaimed democratic socialist in Vermont, implying that the appeal was based only on wishful thinking.
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Others cited the contrast between the early call to South Carolina and the longer wait after Sanders’ decisive victory in the Nevada caucuses.
“The media waited hours – and long after a significant amount of Nevada results had arrived – before calling Bernie”, tweeted journalist Jordan Uhl. They then disparaged him with vicious anti-Semitic smears. Tonight, with 0%, the media not only calls him to Biden, but joyfully declares him the favorite. ”
“This is not to say that this is a deeply insidious plot, but it is important to recognize these marked differences”, Uhl added.
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Pollster Frank Luntz disputed these allegations.
“Nevada was immediately called to @BernieSanders,” Luntz tweeted. “South Carolina was immediately called in for @JoeBiden because it was digitally impossible for anyone to overtake him after counting the largest neighborhoods.”
But exit polls are sometimes wrong.
In the 2016 presidential election, exit polls seemed to indicate that some battleground states broke for Hillary Clinton, but they were ultimately won by Donald Trump.
Likewise, in 2004, the exit poll seemed to indicate that Democratic challenger John Kerry was on the verge of defeating outgoing President George W. Bush, who was later re-elected.
And in the 2008 New Hampshire Democratic primary, exit polls indicated that Barack Obama was going to beat Clinton, who then won the state.
The exit ballots are conducted by the National Election Pool. The Associated Press and Fox News, which were once part of this consortium, no longer participate in this pool.
“No matter how good the exit ballot and other efforts are, it is irresponsible to call an election with 0% of the results. Voters have suffered enough electoral fiascos in recent years – wait for significant data before calling for a vote. race, “said Kristen Clarke, member of the executive committee of the Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights Under the Law.
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