The New York Observer appears to have been first.

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2006

News That Fits

The New York Times has this exclusive story on its home page  at this moment: "As Voting Nears End, Counting Begins." ... 8:36 p.m.( link)

The Drip, Drip of Exit Poll Leaks

Web sites are flogging two waves of numbers, but nobody is guaranteeing their provenance.

The New Republic (time stamp, 6:08 p.m.) and National Review  (6:25 p.m.) agree on something for the first time since the decision to go to war on Iraq. The Washington Monthly posted the same numbers at 6:10 p.m. The Nation  comes in last at 7:13 p.m., with William Greider citing a Democratic source.

To the best of my knowledge, the New York Observer was first with four races at 5:26 p.m., which means that if the consortium's embargo clock was still ticking at 5 p.m., the embargo lasted only slightly longer than a tall-boy Budweiser on an autumn evening. … 7:32 p.m.(link)

Eek! No Exit Poll Leaks

6:11 Update: Perhaps I wrote too soon. The folks from the New York Observer are flogging exit poll numbers from a handful of Senate races.

6:24 Update: A Washington Monthly  blog has published a set of numbers I had only seen in e-mail before.