J. Richard Eimers; Retired Chief of News Election Service
J. Richard Eimers, who spent 18 years as executive director of the New York City-based News Election Service, has died.
He was 69 and died Monday at a hospital on Staten Island after what was described only as a brief illness.
NES, a cooperative that collects and distributes election returns nationwide, was formed by the three major television networks, United Press International and the Associated Press.
Under Eimers, NES progressed from hand tabulation of votes to a fully computerized, year-round operation.
Eimers retired after the 1982 election and was a consultant for ABC News during the 1984 election coverage.
He was a longtime staff member for Associated Press in Washington, Oregon and Maryland before he joined NES in 1965.
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