The Nation : Bill Introduced to Set Poll Closing Time

Legislation to set a uniform nationwide poll closing time during presidential elections was introduced by Sen. Brock Adams (D-Wash.), with the bill intended to prevent early projections of election results while polls on the West Coast are still open. Election officials in the West have complained that early network television projections discourage voters in their states from going to the polls, adversely affecting the outcome of close local races. The bill calls for the polls to close simultaneously across the country at 7 p.m. Pacific time. Poll closing times in Hawaii and Alaska would not be affected. “After every presidential election, the need for this bill is increasingly apparent,” said Adams, adding that last year the networks began their “quadrennial scramble” to project a winner in the presidential race almost two hours before polls closed in the West.