The AP’s David Bauder writes about what viewers can expect tomorrow night by looking at elections’ past. Before the magic wall there was…
…in 1976, when NBC built a giant map of the country as a backdrop in their studio. The states were lit in white, and were turned red if Democrat Jimmy Carter won, blue if they backed Republican Gerald Ford. After some early glitches – the plastic Georgia almost melted from a hot light in rehearsal – the map became an instant hit.
Four years later, all three broadcasters had big maps. The colors eventually became uniform to what they are now: blue for Democrats, red for Republicans.
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