Of all the news networks attempting to make hours of waiting on (mostly unsurprising) election returns, none tried as hard as CNN. The network’s Ballot Cams—live footage from local election offices in key counties of swing states, with a blinking red light in the corner for extra effect—were an inspired attempt to sex up the tedious task of counting ballots. Unfortunately, not all the poll workers featured on CNN’s Ballot Cam cooperated with the frenzied spirit of CNN’s coverage. Herewith, a few of the least excited-looking poll workers featured on CNN’s Ballot Cam:
This gentleman took a little break, milling around for the duration of reporter Brian Todd’s breathless report from Nashua, N.H.’s vote.
While Paul Vercammen explained how much each candidate was hoping to win Boulder, Colo., the election workers sitting behind him appeared to be in the midst of a nice chat.
Poor election clerk Nancy Doty was made to read Colorado numbers off a sheet of paper by reporter Kyung Lah, who then corrected Doty and explained what the numbers meant.
Don Lemon described this area of a Cincinnati election office as “the war room.”
This poll worker in Henrico, Va. did not appear amused by CNN’s choice of camera angle for Gary Tuchman’s report.
Obviously, poll workers are hard workers without whom the democratic process simply wouldn’t work. But let this be a lesson: Maybe some parts of the election process simply can’t be spun into telegenic, nail-biting narratives.
