Colorado Secretary of State calls on national media to not report results on election night
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- UPDATE: Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has deleted a tweet that urged national media outlets to withhold results on election night. Griswold apologized for the tweet and issued a statement.
I would like to apologize for a tweet I put out earlier tonight. Here is my statement: pic.twitter.com/hQsEp6xWcv
— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) October 2, 2020
Earlier
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold touts the state's security when it comes to voting, but Griswold put out a message Thursday that has many on social media scratching their heads.
Griswold is calling on national news to "make no projections on election night" and "announce no election results on election night.
That is why I am calling on national media networks to pledge to #PressPause for democracy and:
— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) October 1, 2020
1.Make NO projections on election night
2.Announce NO election results on election night
Griswold doesn't specifically name any news outlets, only calling on "national media networks" to make the pledge. She also said she's going to ask other elections administrators and voting rights organizations to join her in the request.
Griswold says that this year's election will be dramatically different, adding that "We need an unprecedented plan from the media for how they will cover an unprecedented election.
It's not likely, however, that the networks will choose to withhold information. Networks aren't the official standard for elections results --results are certified by election officials-- and data is provided by individual states to the public at the same time that it's available to journalists. News organizations like the Associated Press typically make projections on who is statistically likely to win a race based on available data from the states.
No networks have issued a statement in response to Griswold's message as of the publication time of this article.
