Commentary from Sumter Item's Green; It's pizza – I mean election – day

Today’s a big day in newsrooms across the country. It’s tradition. We will eat pizza.

Seriously. I don’t know where or when it started, but it’s an industry tradition, one that has been fulfilled in every newsroom I’ve worked in across the Southeast, for publishers and/or editors to buy their reporters, photographers, videographers, copy editors and graphics designers pizza on Election night. Coffee is already a given.

I don’t know why it’s even a tradition. I usually end up with a stomachache from overeating and an inability to drag my fingers from the computer when I have to pee. TMI. Sorry. It’s like I become a pizza-eating, election results reporting machine.

That’s not the right word. Because we’re not machines. We’re real people (image Pinocchio yelling at you), and the pizza is always a grudgingly welcome token of the 14-hour-plus day that is Election Day. Maybe in 2024 we can start a GoFundMe for Election night Sidebar or a post-election round at Sumter Original Brewery.

Anyway, that’s all to say there’s an election today. Because of our press deadlines, we won’t have election results in Wednesday’s newspaper. They’ll be in on Thursday, but if you’re reading this then I feel it’s safe to say you get your Item news from our website or newsletters or some other digital platform…that’s why we put our reporting on multiple mediums, so it’s easy for you to access. We believe the work we do is important – and even critical – to your quality of life and to the continuation of democracy at a grassroots level, but we also know that you’re bombarded pretty much constantly with things to read, do, watch, scroll, see. So, whether you like getting your local news via email or printed paper, on your phone or a computer, with links posted on social media or videos that pop up amid your scrolls, tune in tonight for local election coverage as it comes in.

Your local newspaper is your most reliable source of accurate, fair and fact-based reporting and storytelling about what’s happening at home. We mark what’s opinion (like this stream of consciousness I hope you’re still reading) and stay focused on the local part of local news. Go watch cable news or read national outlets for the big races. Many of those elections are very important. But The Sumter Item will probably be the only news source providing you with complete and comprehensive coverage of the local races that will impact your daily life, whether it’s the people vying to make decisions about your children’s education or how the city spends your tax dollars, whether it’s how area land is conserved or whether your county’s interests are on the table at the state and congressional level.

So, tune in to our digital platforms to stay up to date Tuesday night. We’re not predicting any overnight backups that will postpone local results until the next morning, but of course we have no control over that so you never know. We’ll post results and quick reactions from winners as we see local races being called. We’ll also be posting coverage from the Associated Press on state and national races that matter to Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties. Everything can be found at our election page, www.theitem.com/election2022. Those stories will also be posted for your easy finding on Facebook and Twitter, and no promises but potentially look out for some emails with top stories. If you need some last-minute studying, peruse that page or read our Vote 2022 guide that we published last month. It has day-of info you need to know before heading to the polls as well as Q&As from local candidates.

Happy Pizza Day to y’all!