Vote Coverage: Many Choices

You may not get any definitive results until late in the evening, but anyone looking for television coverage of today’s election will find more than ever before. Close your eyes, fiddle randomly with the buttons on the remote control, and when you look up, you’re bound to see someone talking about the vote.

Beginning at 6 p.m., two hours before the polls close here in California, and continuing until the wee hours of Wednesday morning, at least 10 local stations and several more cable channels will be broadcasting election results in one form or another.

KCBS Channel 2 will begin offering national election coverage via CBS News at 6 p.m. KABC Channel 7 will air an ABC News election special on results from across the nation at 7 p.m.

Except for a break from 8:07 to 9 p.m. for “Rescue 911,” KCBS will carry some form of local or national election coverage until midnight. Political comedian Mort Sahl will offer lighthearted commentary on the results throughout the night.

KABC will break from 8 to 10 p.m. for ABC’s regularly scheduled sitcoms, “Who’s the Boss?,” “Head of the Class,” “Roseanne” and “Coach,” then will return with election results.

KCAL Channel 9 and KTTV Channel 11 each will offer continuous local coverage beginning at 8 p.m. KCAL’s coverage will feature analysis from Bill Press, the KABC radio talk-show host who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for state insurance commissioner, while KTTV’s will include point-counterpoint discussions between George Putnam and Joseph Cerell.

KNBC Channel 4 will begin its three-hour election coverage at 9 p.m. Channel 4’s newest wrinkle is something called an “election ticker,” a continual crawl at the bottom of the screen, similar to a stock ticker, which will contain the updated results of every state race as well as every contest in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The idea behind the ticker, KNBC officials say, is that most TV coverage focuses on the major races and ignores such smaller contests as the school board election in Simi Valley. With this electronic device, no race, no matter how small, will be ignored.

KTLA Channel 5 and KCOP Channel 13 will commence election coverage with their regularly scheduled newscasts at 10 p.m.

For Spanish speakers and an emphasis on the Hispanic perspective, Spanish-language station KMEX Channel 34 will offer short updates on the hour beginning at 6 p.m., leading up to a 90-minute report on the election at 10 p.m. Rival Spanish-language station KVEA Channel 52 will present three-minute updates twice each hour beginning at 7 p.m., culminating in a full rundown on the election during the station’s 11 p.m. newscast.

Both Spanish-language stations and all of the VHF stations will be reporting live from the election headquarters of the major candidates.

KADY Channel 63 in Ventura County will offer live election coverage from 10 p.m. until midnight. KCET Channel 28 will carry a 15-minute election wrap-up at 11 p.m.

Those with cable can get a jump on this broadcast-station coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. on C-SPAN, which will feature results and commentary on races from around the country. C-SPAN’s coverage will also feature simulcasts of television news programs from several states with key Senate and gubernatorial races, including those in California, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida and North Carolina.

CNN’s election coverage, anchored by Bernard Shaw, will begin at 4 p.m.

And those who receive Century Cable can watch KSMC Channel 30, Santa Monica College’s cable station (beginning at 8 p.m. for those who live in Santa Monica and 9:30 p.m. for everyone else on the Century Cable system). The coverage, which will feature a special focus on the Santa Monica ballot, continues until 2 a.m.

Anyone looking for a little prime-time relief from the election will have several options. In addition to the ABC sitcoms and CBS’ “Rescue 911,” Channel 4 will broadcast a new episode of “Matlock” at 8 p.m., while Channel 5 has Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd in the movie “Dragnet.” Channel 13 will air its regular Tuesday night dramas, “They Came From Outer Space” at 8 and “She Wolf of London” at 9 p.m.