A: Don’t expect resolution on election night. Fact-check (!!!). Take a purposeful pause prior to sharing information.
Background:
Tomorrow’s going to be a rough day on the information frontlines. How can we prepare? Knowledge is power, and here’s what the experts* want us to know:
First: Brace for the possibility that we won’t know the winner for a while.
Some states’ laws allow for early processing/counting of mail-in ballots, while others’ don’t. Differences in reporting time are the result of FEDERALISM – not fraud. We should celebrate the slow lane, not disparage it.
Second: Recognize early exit poll data for what is it – a wildly inaccurate guess.
Exit polls can badly mislead even in the best of times. And these are not the best of times. Notably, the famed polling website FiveThirtyEight “won’t be covering exit polls much at all, at least not on election night.” (cite below)
Third: Stay vigilant about taking in and sharing out (mis)information.
Our brains are swimming in a soup of uncertainty and anxiety – making each and every one of us vulnerable to believing and spreading inaccurate or misleading information. How can we avoid unintentionally propagating the “infodemic?” By fact-checking our info (Google Fact Checker tool is great – link below). And by taking a pause prior to sharing out information…..an approach backed by experimental evidence (cite below). When in doubt, do as Daniel Tiger does and “take a deep breath….and count to four.”
In conclusion:
Stepping away from the news until polls begin closing at 6 pm EST may be the safest and sanest approach. But if that’s not possible (yours truly, Nerdy Girl Lindsey, will certainly “cheat” 😀) then be sure to rely on a trusted source. We like the AP election hub site.
Hang in there, community. Grateful we’re able to support each other through the excruciating tension of the final sprint.
REFERENCES:
*Expert round-up
WaPo expert round-up: “The ultimate survival guide to election night and beyond, in 17 questions and answers” (paywalled)
Dear Pandemic post on uncertainty’s effects on decision-making
Experimental evidence – take a pause
IMAGE CREDIT: World Health Organization
