The Interactive Election Map: From Colored Gels to Kornacki

Explore the transformation of the interactive election map, from primitive colored gels to the latest digital innovations, enhancing how we experience and analyze election night coverage today.
The Interactive Election Map: From Colored Gels to Kornacki
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Whatever your side of the political spectrum, you may be familiar with MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki. The khaki-clad political correspondent was welcomed into the homes of millions during the presidential election of 2020, and for some, has remained a household name ever since. Kornacki is a Boston University film and television grad and, not exactly apropos, one of People’s sexiest men alive in 2020. Number 13, to be exact — just a few rungs below Dwayne Johnson and Brad Pitt. 

If MSNBC is your coverage of choice, Kornacki takes over your television on election night. The hosts are constantly throwing it “back to Steve at the big board” and his slightly frantic, yet oddly calming energy is a rudder through the terrifying waters of the US political landscape. Viewers hang on his every swipe and tap, hoping whatever magic he makes appear will swing the results in their favor. 

The magic, of course, comes from Kornacki’s sidekick: the interactive election map. 

History of the Election Map in Broadcast TV

The very first televised election night took place on Tuesday, November 2, 1948. Harry S. Truman was facing Republican nominee Thomas E. Dewey, and NBC had people tallying the votes via chalkboard. Thankfully, only 1% of Americans even owned a TV to watch the messy visuals. As the night went on, the board became increasingly hard to decipher, and the results were incredibly close to call. So close they created one of the greatest political photos ever taken: President Truman gleefully holding up a newspaper celebrating the victory of his opponent. 

President Truman holding Newspaper that reads "Dewey Defeats Truman"
Image credit: Getty/Bettmann

In 1976, NBC’s results for the Carter vs. Ford race were the first to be displayed in large-scale color. A 14x24 foot map, made of translucent plastic and colored gels, was created in Saturday Night Live’s famous Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center. The show was only in its second season, but they were bumped to less glamorous Brooklyn during election prep and coverage. The broadcast world was in its Cronkite era, but NBC beat out CBS in ratings that night. The interactive election map was a huge hit  — despite some issues with stage lights and melting plastic. 

The rise of the digital age brought a cleaner election map, powered by the internet and kept up-to-date with real-time data. 2008 saw the debut of John King’s “magic wall,” via CNN, and by the 2010s, interactivity became feasible as engineers turned to JavaScript and Flash to explore data more visually. It allowed for crisp zooms and appealing highlights to make on-screen regional comparisons within the digital map. By the 2012 and 2016 elections, live updates and simulations made the correspondents’ predictions more accurate and highly engaging.

The Interactive Election Map from 2018 to Today

The "big board" revealed by NBC in 2018 used cutting edge software developed by their own product and technology teams. It was a highly interactive touchscreen using HTML5, CSS, and Javascript, specifically Javascript’s D3.js library. Today, D3.js makes it possible for developers to connect their data to HTML, CSS, and SVG, creating richly detailed, data-backed visuals for viewers to follow along on election night.

In 2022, NBCU Academy introduced the internet to the technology behind the big board. Senior Software Engineering Manager, Sam Swartz, explained that the data delivered through the magic screen doesn’t happen without the concerted effort between producers and “the Decision Desk.” Behind the scenes, a group of a couple dozen integral people, many with PhDs in political science, sit in a windowless room together. They’re led by NBC News Director of Elections John Lapinski, and their main focus is getting the data right. “We’re constantly in contact with Steve and his producers, giving him the most up-to-date information on how much vote is left, what turnout will be, where data will be coming in. Much of that data we flow directly into his big board,” Lepinski explains in the Instagram video below. 

2024 Election Coverage New Features

If you’re planning to watch the election coverage on Tuesday night, you can expect a few improvements from the last election cycle. NBC will be “leveraging advanced mixed reality technology” to make a more immersive viewing experience. Epic Games’ Unreal Engine will be used to place NBC anchors in the middle of Rockefeller Plaza and the MSNBC crew will appear to be reporting from outside the White House. If you can’t get enough Kornacki, there is also a “Kornacki Cam” being broadcast on Peacock. It will stream from a suction-cupped GoPro on his desk.

In other network news, CNN has created a John King “Magic Wall” Election Map app, so you can obsessively follow along with King if you’re not near a TV set. You can also set up alerts when crucial battleground states are called. Fox has reported they are stepping up the technology for their election night coverage, including a new media wall and greater usage of augmented reality-enabled tech. And finally CBS will be leaning heavily on extended reality, debuting their totally AR/VR election center — no hard sets, everything digital. 

Interested in learning more about virtual production and gaming engines? Check out AVIXA TV!

 

Header image credit: Getty/Shanina

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