ABSTRACT

In the second half of the twentieth century, with the rise of television, Americans developed an expectation that at the end of Election Day—after dinner and after the polls closed—they could turn on their television sets and watch the returns come in. Doing so became something of a national ritual, akin to watching the Super Bowl, particularly in presidential elections. Perhaps watching America's athletes in the summer Olympics would be a better analogy, as these games occur on the same quadrennial cycle as presidential elections.