How to Avoid an Election Day Nightmare

The Associated Press has called America's elections since 1848. But this year will be unlike anything it's ever seen. Here's an inside view of the AP's massive vote-calling operation. If you have trouble reading this message, [view it in a browser](. [This Iconic Image Belongs on Your Coffee Table]( The latest issue of Esquire is out now, featuring two legends: David Byrne and Spike Lee, shot by Dario Calmese (a future legend himself). It will look great on your coffee table—any surface, really. You can get it now by joining Esquire Select, our new membership program. You’ll also get unlimited access to Esquire.com—including the award-winning Politics with Charles P. Pierce—a members-only newsletter, discounts from friends of Esquire, and more.[Read More]( [How the Associated Press Plans to Determine the Winner of This Year's Election]( The Associated Press has called U.S. elections since 1848, when it used a new technology, the telegraph, to declare Zachary Taylor the next president of the United States. In our lifetime, Election Day has pretty much gone like this: visit your local polling place, vote, flip on the TV around prime time, and watch the returns come in. By the time you go to bed, the media has declared a winner. While cable networks have their own teams of experts who compile data and project winners, they rely on the AP’s reporting and data to cross-reference their work. And the AP supplies results to its subscribers, including The New York Times, Google, and myriad local newspapers. The general consensus is if the AP declares a winner, it must be true. But this year will be unlike anything the AP has ever seen. Ahead of next week’s big day—or days—Kate Story got an inside view of the AP's massive vote-calling operation.[Read More]( [23 Things to Buy From Huckberry, the Fall Style Haven We All Need Right Now]( For Huckberry, seasonal chill means one thing and one thing only: It's time to get down to business. Sure, the most delicious-sounding site on the world wide web's got you covered when it comes to all your summertime needs (it's generous like that), but man, this season is Huckberry's bread and butter. This is when it really shines. Because the best-in-class e-comm operation takes fall seriously, and that means there's no better place on the whole damn internet to turn to to help make all your fall style dreams come true. (No pumpkin spice necessary!) We’re talking an extensive selection of all your favorite—or soon-to-be-favorite—fall weather staples, including thick sweaters, hefty flannels, and the type of rugged outerwear that'll make you pine for inclement weather on even the sunniest autumn days. So sit back, relax, and let the good people at Huckberry do what they do best. Winter might be coming, but rest assured—the experts are already here.[Read More]( [The 18 Best Loafers for Easing Into Wearing Real Shoes Again]( It boils down to attitude: Loafers aren't precious, and they sure as hell don't need to be coddled. No matter what type you prefer, from the classic Gucci horse-bit to the iconic G.H. Bass Weejun, wear 'em the same way you would a thrashed pair of sneakers—casually, and with reckless abandon—and you'll be more than fine. (And for further guidance, emulate the attitude of labels like Aimé Leon Dore, a brand that routinely pairs its swankiest loafer styles with the type of retro-inflected elevated athleisure its devotees can't get enough of.) Sure, the loafer might not be the shoe-in (heh) candidate it was supposed to be this year, but we’re betting that at the end of all this it's coming out a winner. And it's never too late to get on board with the movement. Do so with one of our favorite 18 styles here.[Read More]( [The Best Last-Minute Halloween Costumes Call for No Planning, but a Little Imagination]( Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr. "This Year Will Be Different, I Swear." Even if you don't want to admit it to yourself, you already kind of know you're going to leave your costume to the last minute, don't you? Figures. What else is new? But we’re going to bail you out one more time. As Patton might put it: pressure makes diamonds. And because it’s October 29, the pressure is officially on. Here are 18 Halloween costumes you can still pull off with ease.[Read More]( [Judge Amy Coney Barrett and Me]( Eight days before the 2020 Presidential election, Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice. Donald Trump attended the swearing-in, the third of his Presidency. She replaces Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose trip from nomination to near-unanimous confirmation by a divided Senate took about seven weeks. Barrett’s confirmation, happening as a pandemic ravages the United States, was split along party lines and took less than four. You don’t rush to appoint a legal mind who might surprise and challenge you, who might hand you an L once in a while for the greater good of the country. You rush to appoint someone who has a Job To Do. The notion that Supreme Court Justices have a Job To Do, and that the Job isn’t to analyze and interpret the law but rather to do the bidding of the team who appointed you, seems antithetical to the idea of an independent judicial branch, but here we are. And since Esquire’s Dave Holmes is part of the we that is here, now, here’s what a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court means. Here’s where he is.[Read More]( [Read More on Esquire.com]( [Enter for a chance to win: A Shinola Runwell Sport Chrono 48MM (valued at $1,025). Prize features: Stainless steel case with double-domed sapphire crystal, black dial with Super-LumiNova hands, arabic numerals and hour markers (Hours, minutes, small seconds), date indicator, stopwatch function with three subdials, Argonite 5050 quartz movement, and stainless steel bracelet. Enter now!]( Follow Us [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Notice]( esquire.com ©2020 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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