ABC, CBS Call Races Before Polls’ Closing

Two of the three major television networks virtually declared winners in the New Hampshire primary an hour before all the polls had closed Tuesday.

But all said they acted within promises made to Congress after the last presidential election to avoid projections that could discourage voter turnout.

All three networks promised Congress in 1985 not to use exit polls to predict winners in state elections, such as the New Hampshire primary, before the “overwhelming majority” of polls closed. But the promises did not pertain to presidential general elections, prompting Congress to pursue a single poll closing time across the continental United States.

Would Extend Daylight Savings

The House approved legislation late last year that would close November election day polls on the East Coast at 9 p.m., extend Daylight Savings Time on the West Coast by two weeks, and close polls there at 7 p.m. A similar bill is pending in the Senate, but many consider chances of ultimate passage by Congress slim due to problems that extending Daylight Savings Time might cause on the travel and securities industries.

The legislation is designed to satisfy complaints that early network projections based on exit polling in the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections affected several local elections by dissuading Americans in Western states from voting.

Tuesday evening, ABC anchor Peter Jennings, acutely conscious of the network policy, delivered a somewhat tortured characterization of the race at 6:57 p.m. EST, moments before roughly three-quarters of the polls would be closed.

“Based on everything we see so far, that’s the total vote counted so far, the key precincts in some of the areas around the state and even some of the exit polling information . . . George Bush is going to be able to pull it out by just that,” Jennings said, then held up his thumb and index finger close together.

Bush Predicted Winner

At 7 p.m., CBS anchor Dan Rather projected Vice President Bush winner on the Republican side and Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis on the Democratic side, based on exit polling.

Both ABC and CBS said that they were fulfilling their promise to Congress because the “overwhelming majority” of polls here had closed by 7 p.m. ABC put the number at 87%. NBC put the number closer to 75%. Polls here close anywhere from 6:30 to 8 p.m., depending on county preferences.

“CBS News has upheld the spirit and the letter of that promise (to Congress) despite obvious competitive pressures,” CBS spokesman Tom Goodman said.

“What Peter Jennings reported on air this evening was quite in keeping with our policy,” ABC spokeswoman Elise Ade said.

NBC News, however, waited until after all the polls closed to declare winners.

Research is contradictory as to whether early network projections affect voter turnout.

11% Dissuaded From Voting

A University of Michigan study commissioned by ABC concluded that in 1980 projections made by all three networks several hours before Western polls closed dissuaded up to 11% of voters from turning out in some areas and affected several campaigns.

But a study by professor William Adams of George Washington University in 1984, when all three networks projected Reagan’s victory 2 1/2 hours before Western polls closed, found that fewer than 3% of voters stayed away as a result.