Get the latest tech news

The AP has called winners in elections for more than 170 years. How it's done

One question that will be asked over and over again on election night is “Who won?” The Associated Press will answer that question for nearly 5,000 contested races across the United States.

A careful and thorough analysis of the latest available vote tallies and a variety of other election data, with the ultimate goal of answering this question: Is there any circumstance in which the trailing candidate can catch up? Large changes in an area’s voting patterns that differ substantially from statewide trends are certainly possible but tend to take root over a time frame of multiple elections. Data from AP VoteCast makes it possible in some cases to call non-competitive or less competitive races as the polls close or shortly afterward with the initial release of votes.

Get the Android app