It’s Election Day. Take a deep breath. We can all acknowledge this is an election like no other, in a time like no other. An election is a big deal on its own, but throw in a global pandemic, social unrest, extreme political division, democratic institutions — including journalism — under attack and wildfires, and we’re at a new level of uncertainty and stress.

We feel the weight and pressure of these circumstances just like you, but as a mission-driven public media organization we have an obligation to set that aside for the moment in order to serve you on Election Day and beyond. We are committed to our public service role as a trusted source of news and information for our communities. And I want you to know that regardless of what happens today and in the future, we will be there for you every step of the way.

Throughout our many election planning meetings, we put a lot of attention into defining how our commitment to serving the public would shape our coverage of the election given these extraordinary times. In these discussions, I pushed our editorial, digital and programming teams to think about how we could adapt to best serve you, and what that means in terms of our reporting and the way we present it.

Our entire organization has mobilized to meet this moment, and you’ll find that we are stepping up to offer unprecedented election coverage across all platforms. With our election reporting initiatives, our goal is to ensure that you have clarity and context delivered in a way that is calm and reassuring. We will help you understand what is happening and what it means for you. Simply reporting what is happening isn't enough. We will choose factual, contextualized reporting every time.

We know you’ll have a lot of questions as this all unfolds. Throughout Election Week, we will be there to listen, provide resources and offer clarity. We are a community-focused news organization, so do not hesitate to reach out on our social media platforms, on our website or to our member engagement team. I am so proud to see everyone at the station going above and beyond to produce this extended election coverage for our communities. And as a member of CapRadio, you make this possible. Thank you.

Joe Barr
Chief Content Officer

It’s the final stretch until Election Day, the busiest news moment of any year. I’m at the door to my office, peering out over the CapRadio newsroom — and it’s deserted. Morning sunlight reveals dusty computer screens and the “on-air” signs are off. 

Our studios normally would be buzzing leading up to the big vote. Senior producer Drew Sandsor might be refilling his coffee, again. I might see the digital journalists — Helga Salinas, Emily Zentner, Chris Hagan — actively collaborating and typing away on their keyboards, updating our Election Live Blog and engaging with our audiences on social media. And inevitably, someone would be asking about Election Night pizza.

Not this year: The CapRadio News staff remains committed to delivering news and analysis throughout this week, but they’ll mostly be doing so from their living rooms and basements. 

The few on-site staffers will wear masks, abide by a healthy dose of COVID guidelines and enjoy pre-packaged meals on Tuesday night. (RIP election pizza.) 

All of this is a sober reminder that 2020’s vote truly is historic — and still a little strange. But also, it’s a testament to CapRadio’s dedication and perseverance.

We’ve built a voter guide from scratch and published hundreds of stories, interviews and more — even though most of us haven’t seen each other in over half a year. 

“That energy, I feel it with the stories,” is how longtime Morning Edition anchor Steve Milne described this election season. “But the building itself, as you know, it’s kind of weird and empty.”

Steve says he’s been impressed by his colleagues during this work-from-home era, specifically citing reporters Bert Johnson and Sarah Mizes-Tan’s series on the threat of militias during this year’s vote, and projects by the digital team.

“I don’t think we would have ever done something like that [in the past],” he said. “Our digital content is just amazing.”

Steve has covered presidential elections for decades. But he still gets nervous before the big day.

“I’m really confident we’ll have great coverage, but you always kind of stay up a little bit later, not being able to fall asleep,” he said. 

Our coverage will be very different this year. We’re retiring terms like “precincts reporting” — did anyone really understand what that meant, anyway? — and our anchors won’t be reporting on who is “ahead” or “winning” as the ballot count begins. 

Instead, we’ll be focusing on votes cast and how much tallying remains. We won’t speculate about who or what measure is poised to win. And we will rely on the judicious and cautious Associated Press to make calls on national and statewide races.

“Do not expect us to treat this like a basketball game. We’re not going to treat this like there are winners and losers,” said Kris Hooks, CapRadio’s news editor, who will help coordinate Election Night coverage.

Kris and I both agree that our election coverage on Tuesday and Wednesday will be about getting listeners, readers and viewers ready for a long road ahead. 

“Preparing them for what’s to come in the days ahead, weeks really. We’re not going to know who won, what propositions passed, until days or weeks later,” Kris said.

I recognize the anxiety and frustration that comes with not having immediate answers. I think back to the 2000 election and my own trudging through that night: refreshing websites, chatting with friends online, watching TV on multiple screens. And, of course, constantly listening to NPR. And I know there are many of you who will pull an all-nighter during this historic election. 

Being on-edge, it’s a shared experience here at CapRadio. 

“I’m feeling pretty nervous leading up to this election,” our race and equity reporter Sarah Mizes-Tan said.

Sarah joined CapRadio in January, when she traveled from Cape Cod to Sacramento. She’s witnessed the evolution of our election coverage since the earliest planning stages, including more than a few twists and turns.

“It definitely feels weird. I’d envisioned this year to be very different. And I didn’t anticipate this election to feel so heavy,” she said, adding that she misses the face-to-face connections during these times. 

But, like all of us, Sarah is focused on serving you this week.

“I would hope that we can deliver a nuanced look at the results,” she said. “Not just the immediate results, but also the impact.”

The good news is that nuance, and impact, will be immediate: CapRadio is going live on air every day, all day, dramatically expanding our on-air election coverage this week. 

Beginning on Monday, reporters started fanning out across the region, listening to voters and bearing witness to our democracy in action. Scott Rodd is visiting smaller towns in the rural foothills, Sammy Caiola is at vote centers reporting on COVID-related safety, Bert is monitoring developments in swing-state Nevada and Sarah is visiting polls in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) communities. Nicole Nixon, Chris Nichols and Ezra Romero are out reporting at the polls, as well.

We’re doing this because we know CapRadio needs to be there at all hours to help you understand this moment. And we are grateful for your support as you join us on this extraordinary journey. 

Be safe.

Nick Miller
Managing Editor of News

As journalists, we pride ourselves on knowing what is going on. For a lot of us, that's why we got into this industry, a desire to always find out what's happening and tell as many people as we can about it. But part of that job is also being clear about what we don't know, and communicating that as clearly as we can.

This election season has come with a lot of uncertainty. Millions of people are voting by mail in an attempt to limit the spread of the coronavirus. On Election Night, we most likely won't have the full picture of which candidates will win and which propositions will pass. It may take weeks in some cases to know the winners of some races.

For the CapRadio Digital Content Team, this precariousness means we're rethinking how we report election results. We decided to focus on two main components: providing the latest information and results, and offering clarity and context on the vote counting process. 

To provide you with the latest information, we worked closely with our Digital Products Team to reimagine our Live Election Results page. Not only can you stay up-to-date with the latest state and national races, but you can now receive personalized results on local races by entering your address. No matter how long it takes to count all the votes, we’ll make sure you have access to the latest results. 

For clarity on the results, we're going to communicate how far along we are in the count. We're working with Political Data, a group focused on California voter data, to provide estimates on the number of votes expected in each race, so you can see how close we are to a final total. We’re also making tweaks to how we communicate results on our website and social media platforms by avoiding words like "ahead" or "winning" when results are still incomplete.

Beyond election results, my team is focused on providing clarity and transparency during Election Week on our website and social media platforms. We launched an Election FAQ that goes into detail on how we plan to cover the election, because we believe that it’s important for you to understand our approach and how we plan to serve you during Election Week. 

We'll also manage an Election Day Live Blog so that you can get the latest information from our reporters in the field, including updates and interviews from polling places, as well as photos capturing this historic election from Visual Journalist Andrew Nixon. And if you still need to cast your ballot, you can find your closest polling location or official ballot box using our Voting Map.

Overall, we want to make sure the information you need is as easy as possible to access, but paired with context to make sense of it. We know you may have questions throughout Election Week, and I encourage you to reach out to us on our website or social media accounts so we can respond and help you better understand everything going on. In the end, we don't know what will happen today, or even this week, but we're ready to bear witness and report back to you.

Chris Hagan
Managing Editor of Digital Content

We keep hearing that this upcoming election is going to be the “most important election” of our lifetimes. At Insight, we know the gravity of the decisions we all make today, and we are taking the approach of delivering the news and results that come from the election with context, clarity and, just as importantly, a sense of calm.

During Election Week, Insight will be a space for dialogue, conversation and deep analysis of the post-election fall-out, whichever way it goes. We will cut through the rhetoric and give our audience the news they need to make sense of the results and what it means to them and their families.

We’ve broken Election Week into two parts. Monday and Tuesday, we are keeping a close watch on the election process. Are there any issues with voting? How are the counties handling any late surge? Are polling places safe? Impact of COVID-19 and social distancing on voting? Who is voting and why? What is it like for first-time voters?

From Wednesday to Friday, we will concentrate on the results and bring context to the decisions voters have made. There are several local and statewide races with huge implications on state economics, taxes and racial equity. We will hear from people of all backgrounds and be as geographically diverse as we possibly can.

Our plan is to tap the historical expertise of Ken Rudin during Election Week, as well. Ken has a knack for putting national politics into historical perspective, with a bit of humor and wit to boot. He is a favorite of our Insight listeners and will no doubt play a large role in our coverage pre and post election.

We also want and expect feedback from our audience and will provide easy access to the Insight team via email and social media to make the conversation a two-way street. We know how intense elections can be and we want our listeners to engage with us and be heard. Our job is to make sure the conversations are robust but also rewarding.

This could be a turning point in American history and California history and we have never been more prepared to deliver the results in a more comprehensive and clear way.

Aram Sarkissian
Managing Editor of News-Talk

Here’s one of the few things we know for certain about this unprecedented Election Week: News will break at any moment, anywhere in the country — and in our region.

And for the first time in well over a decade, I won’t be reporting on it.

Earlier this year, I turned in my reporter’s notebook and moved into a new role as CapRadio’s Director of Programming and Audience Development. So this Election Week, instead of reporting on the candidates and ballot measures, I’ll be spending my first election behind the scenes. I will be listening, offering coaching and feedback and making any necessary tough in-the-moment-decisions with our Programming, News, Insight, Operations and Tech teams. Together we will be providing you with an unprecedented coverage plan: We’re going live — both national and local — all day, every day.

What’s that mean? Essentially, anytime you tune into CapRadio, however that might be, we want you to hear whatever’s most important in that moment. Sometimes, that’ll be a major development in the presidential race. Other times, it might be an emerging state or local result or a protest in downtown Sacramento.

How we provide this coverage is complicated, to put it mildly. Because of the pandemic, each shift will include 10 people spread across five studios, our Newsroom, our homes and two separate Zooms: one for the anchor and on-air guests and the other for behind-the-scenes communications. CapRadio reporters will join our special coverage from vote centers, street demonstrations and home closets. But hey, it’s an election. It’s what we do.

So to be as responsive to the news as possible the week of the election — and in recognition of how little we may know on Election Night — we will run NPR’s All Things Considered from 1-3 p.m, along with a few other schedule tweaks. NPR's national election coverage will start at 4 p.m. Tuesday and return for an hour at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We’re also prepared to initiate live, local special coverage at any time to keep you fully up to date on the crucial state and regional ballot measures and races.

We’re grateful that you choose to trust CapRadio as your source for fact-based reporting and analysis this election season. And we’re always open to your feedback. You can email me at [email protected].

Take care, stay safe and stay informed!

Ben Adler
Director of Programming and Audience Development

Access CapRadio’s election coverage no matter how you consume the news.

CapRadio has created two special Voter Soundtracks, each curated by our music hosts for this momentous week. One is a collection of classical selections from host Victor Forman to help you maintain calm and concentration during Election Week. The other from host Gary Vercelli is an energetic set of jazz and soul recordings to inspire you, even long after election season.

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Public Media For All is a diverse coalition of public media workers, led by people of color, who are raising awareness about the lack of diversity, equity and inclusion in public media, as well as sharing solutions for individuals and organizations. 

The coalition aims to hold the Corporation for Public Broadcast to its commitment to serve people of color:

“it is in the public interest to encourage the development of programming that involves creative risks and that addresses the needs of unserved and underserved audiences, particularly children and minorities”

- Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1967

On November 10, Public Media For All is hosting a national day of activism and education to address the need for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in public media. In a show of support for its mission, CapRadio has committed to the organizational action items outlined to help make meaningful progress with DEI at the station.

“At CapRadio, we aspire to be an organization that honors, respects and elevates different perspectives, backgrounds and cultures — both internally and externally,” said Jun Reina, general manager at CapRadio. “We recognize the negative effects caused by white-dominated culture in public media, as well as our own organization, and we are fully committed to taking the necessary actions to address diversity, equity and inclusion.”

CapRadio joins other public media organizations, including Greater Public, Public Media Women in Leadership and Oregon Public Broadcasting, that have committed to taking action in support of diversity, equity and inclusion. 

CapRadio and NPR are accessible any time you want through your Amazon Alexa, Google Home or Apple Homepod smart speaker. To help you out, our digital products team put together a guide so you can easily stream the news and music you love.

In order to better serve our listeners, we now have a web page where you can check the status of our broadcast signals across our coverage areas. You can also report problems you're having and easily access other listening options through our online streaming, mobile app and more.