Election Season 101
Welcome to Election Season! We at Data for Progress have prepared a list of the most important things to know if you’re planning to watch results as they roll in, which presumably you are or you wouldn’t be on this site! If you’re looking for more details, check out our Election Season 201 and 301 documents, linked below.
Counting votes takes time
- Even longer when there are lines at polling places, physical ballots, or boxes of mail in ballots.
- The huge number of mailed ballots this election mean reporting final vote counts will take longer, especially if election offices face staff and technology shortages.
- Social distancing measures may mean even longer waits at polling locations.
Ignore early results
- Early results are based on only a small number of ballots being counted and they can look very different from the final result. Wait for all ballots to be counted!
- Some competitive congressional races can take days to call, especially when a few thousand votes determine the winner.
- Weird fluctuations early in the night make a great news story, but don’t actually tell you anything.
Ignore “percent precincts reporting”
- Precinct reporting only tells you how many precincts (small units of geography, typically corresponding to polling locations for election purposes) have counted any ballots, not how many ballots they’ve counted.
Your vote will get counted, just maybe not on election day
- Late mail-in ballots can sometimes be counted late at night or the next day, depending on the state.
- Some states will count all ballots postmarked by election day, which can continue to be received for days after election day.
Only the state can certify a result
- “Calls” by newsrooms and the AP are not official.
- Legal challenges by campaigns generally need to be resolved before a result is truly final.