How to watch election night results like someone who actually knows what's going on

How to watch the 2022 midterm election results on Tuesday night?

In some respects, it couldn’t be easier: Turn on your TV. All the major broadcast and cable-news networks plus PBS will offer coverage of election returns. Pick one and stick with it or channel surf, whatever your preference. More on that in a moment.

That’s the easy part.

The harder part is being patient. If we learned anything in 2020 — and it is abundantly clear that a lot of people didn’t — it’s that election night is no longer the end of the line. It’s just the first step.

No agreement: Biden's speech was 'sharp and urgent' or 'pretty ridiculous.' 

Why does it take so long to count ballots?

More people vote early and by mail. It takes time to count those ballots. This has been said countless times already, but it bears saying again:

That’s not cheating. No matter what anyone says — or how loud and angrily they say it.

It’s just being thorough. Every vote legitimately cast should be counted. TV networks have been hammering the point home, and they should continue. As the movie says, some people you just can’t reach. But that doesn’t mean you should stop trying.

Here’s some advice repeated again from a veteran election-night TV observer (namely, me): Leave your comfort zone.

That is, if you think of yourself as conservative, watch MSNBC. If you think of yourself as liberal, watch Fox News.

Election Day coverage: Arizona election results

You won’t burst into flames (though you might burst into fits of rage).

It’s the best way to know what the other side is thinking. And surprises happen, like when Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden early during election night 2020, enraging Donald Trump and setting two years of election denialism in motion. That was the story of the night (well, until Trump falsely claimed he had won the election).

You don’t need your bias reinforced. You need it challenged. It’s enlightening.

No debate: Dana Bash interviewing Katie Hobbs and Kari Lake was essential TV

Arizona is a test of the 'Trump effect'

Speaking of Arizona, it’s at the center of the political firestorm like never before, and is “incredibly important, on a number of levels,” said David Reiter, executive producer of special events at CBS News. When the Republicans running for all of the top offices are election deniers, that’ll happen.

Election guide: November 2022

Election results | City races | School boards | State | Governor | Ballot measures | Federal

“Broadly speaking, Arizona is certainly one of the biggest tests of how the Trump effect plays in a general election matchup at the state level,” said Carrie Budoff Brown, NBC News senior vice president for “Meet the Press,” who is overseeing NBC’s midterm coverage.

Like everything else Tuesday night, covering Arizona will take some patience.

“If there’s one thing we’re certain of, it’s that we might have to wait a while to see results, especially in your Senate race,” Brown said. So, if you want to know whether Blake Masters will unseat Mark Kelly, it might take a while.

As in days.

Remember, most news organizations didn’t declare Biden the likely winner until the Saturday after the election. (Some people still haven’t, but that’s another story.)

Go to sleep. It's not going to be settled tonight

Admittedly, this creates an awkward TV-watching situation. The possibility of it feeling somehow anticlimactic exists, I suppose. But the possibility of some really big stories seems even more likely. If you’re interested in politics, it’s can’t-miss TV. If you’re not, it’s going to be can’t-avoid TV.

And when calls finally are made, it’s going to be something. If Katie Hobbs defeats Kari Lake for governor (or if any other Republican in Arizona loses to a Democrat, for that matter), will she accept the results? It seems unlikely. What then?

What indeed? That’s when an interesting story becomes a critical one. It’s not a stretch to say that the future of democracy is on the line.

That’s a story I’d want to see. So election coverage, no matter how drawn out, is worth the wait.

Serious satire: Why a former 'South Park' writer bought KariLake2022.com 

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How to watch midterm election night results and updates live on TV