How and why the AP declares winners on election night
Summary
The Associated Press (AP) plays a key role in announcing election winners in the United States by gathering and analyzing vote counts from local elections. Since there is no national body for election results, the AP provides timely updates and declares winners by estimating if a trailing candidate can still win.Key Facts
- The AP has been declaring election winners for nearly 180 years.
- The U.S. lacks a nationwide system for collecting election results; election data is managed by local offices.
- The AP gathers vote counts from local election officials and websites.
- The AP updates election results frequently, sometimes making up to 21,000 updates per hour.
- Analysts examine factors like uncounted ballots and voter turnout to call a race.
- Voting methods, such as mail or in-person, can affect early vote counts.
- Mail ballots are more commonly used by Democrats, while Republicans often vote in person.
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