NYT Election Needle, Defying Predictions, Exists

One way to tamp down anxiety this Election Night? Don’t even have a New York Times election needle to look at. But will she show, despite the Times’ tech workers strike? Read on for the latest on the needle.

November 5, 3:50 p.m.: The NYT election needle — along with Steve Kornacki, your terrified mother calling you, and the cigarettes you’re smoking even though you don’t really smoke these days — is one of the true icons of Election Night in the digital age. As states roll in, the needle, like a grand, languid leviathan, inches toward the winning side. It’s very scary. This year, however, the Times’ tech workers are on strike over racial disparities in pay and for job security, so the needle may not happen at all.

Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst at the Times, wrote a thread on X about the needle in a post-strike world, noting that, much like this election (sorry), the needle’s presence was a toss-up. “I do not know whether we will be able to publish the Needle,” he said. “There are good reasons to bet against it, though perhaps there are scenarios where things are running super smoothly; alternately, we hit bugs at the start and there’s no chance.” Not to sound to pessimistic, but “we hope that this will maybe just go super smoothly” is not usually a winning plan for success during a U.S. election. Maybe we should ask Ann Selzer if the needle will run?

November 5, 8:27 p.m.: She’s alive! The New York Times election needle appeared slightly after the results for Florida. NYT chief political analyst Nate Cohn alerted us all to the needle’s presence, tweeting “We have a needle.” At time of publication, it’s reading 260 for Harris and 278 for Trump.