SMALL SCREEN THE BUZZ ON TELEVISION.

Byline: - Compiled by Valerie Kuklenski

VOTE AND REMOTE: After earning your ``I voted'' sticker, you can follow local and national returns around the dial. The most blanket coverage of the secession measures and other local decisions will be on KCAL, with election results from 8 to 11 p.m. KABC, KCBS and KNBC will carry network entertainment programs 8 to 10 p.m. with breaks for election updates, followed by network election specials from 10 to 11 p.m. and more local and national coverage in their late newscasts. With the House and Senate teetering between Democratic and Republican majorities, the outcome of races in Arkansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Texas should be of interest to the whole nation. MSNBC's ``Decision 2002,'' anchored by Chris Matthews, starts at 4 p.m. Pacific time and will wrap up at 1 a.m. CNN will move ``Capitol Gang,'' ``Inside Politics With Judy Woodruff'' and ``Wolf Blitzer Reports'' into the early-afternoon local time and start election coverage at 3 p.m., until final results are in. Fox News Channel has Brit Hume on the election desk starting at 3 p.m., with updates before, during and after ``The Fox Report With Shepard Smith'' at 4 p.m. and ``The O'Reilly Factor'' at 5 p.m., followed by election reports till it's over. Mindful of the 2000 election debacle, NBC and Fox are touting improved research systems that should - should - ward off bad calls. And NBC says it will not call any races until the last polling places in that state have closed. No hanging chads, please.

LETTERMAN ON THE AIR: David Letterman fans who are on the road late at night or work wee-hours shifts can get their fix by tuning into KLSX-FM 97.1 starting Monday. CBS has arranged for major-market Infinity Broadcasting stations to air the audio feed of ``The Late Show With David Letterman'' at 11:35 p.m. weeknights. True, moments like Drew Barrymore's flashing the host and Paul Shaffer's eggnog spit take won't be the same, but in general it's one of the best moves we've seen by the Viacom corporate synergy department.

THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, 11:35 tonight, CBS, Channel 2.

WILD AT HEART: ``Scientific American Frontiers'' tonight looks at the decimation over time of the Great Plains and what it means to North America (other than a really monotonous drive across I-70). ``Forever Wild?'' - hosted by Alan Alda - looks at efforts to restore the natural life cycle of the grasslands where 60 million bison once roamed.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: FOREVER WILD?, 9 tonight, KCET.

NO FREE LUNCH: Nelvana Entertainment is boasting about a promotional campaign for its ABC Family series ``Beyblade'' that has its characters appearing on 4 million school cafeteria menus nationwide. Remember when corporate sponsorships in schools actually had some sort of educational purpose?

BEYBLADE, 7 a.m. weekdays, 7 and 9 a.m. weekends, ABC Family.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) LETTERMAN: Radio waves.

(2) ALDA: More scientific what if's.

(3) no caption (scene from ``Beyblade'')