In this 26-minute podcast, C-SPAN President and Co-CEO Susan Swain interviews former AP bureau chief Sandy K. Johnson about what happened behind the scenes on election night 2000, when Johnson refused to call the race for Vice President Al Gore, and during the five-week battle that followed.

The AP was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for its coverage of the election, including Johnson’s pivotal decision to hold off calling the election even after the networks all had done so.  Johnson was president of the National Press Foundation before retiring earlier this year. Swain is an NPF board member.

“Voters are unpredictable and polls are unreliable,” Johnson says. “Everyone needs to go into this election night with their eyes wide open because almost anything can happen.”

Johnson offers this advice for newsrooms:

• Make sure you know the rules for absentee and mail-in ballots, which differ from state to state. For example, Minnesota will accept absentee ballots until the Friday of election week. In Michigan, officials cannot even open ballots until Election Day.
• Know the recount laws in your state. They differ.
• Know the campaign lawyers. Some are challenging the voting laws even before Election Day. The 2000 legal talent included former Secretaries of State Warren Christopher and James Baker.