EXPLAINER: Why do the media call races in US elections?
The Associated Press and the major TV networks have long played a major role in announcing the victor in elections based on their own data. There is no national elections commission to tell the world who wins on election day, unlike in many other countries. A FRAGMENTED PROCESSThe expectation of same-day election results is a modern one, as is the notion of one single Election Day. So the vacuum remained between individual states’ results and the country’s collective decision. Major U.S. television networks follow roughly the same process, using either AP's vote count or another vote count to call races.
After waiting game, media moves swiftly to call Biden winner
Because votes are counted state by state, verdicts by the media outlets' decision desks serve as the unofficial finish line for the presidential race. The closeness of the race in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina proved another challenge. “We just have to be certain before we call a winner in the presidential election,” said Sally Buzbee, executive editor and senior vice president of the AP. Heading into Saturday, CNN, CBS, NBC and ABC — which coordinate their vote counts and exit polls — had Biden at 253 electoral votes. All know that calling a presidential election wrong is a career-wrecker.
The count goes on — with Biden on the cusp of presidency
WASHINGTON – Democrat Joe Biden stood on the cusp of winning the presidency Friday night, three days after Election Day, as the long, exacting work of counting votes widened his lead over President Donald Trump in critical battleground states. There was intense focus on Pennsylvania, where Biden led Trump by more than 27,000 votes, and Nevada, where the Democrat led by about 22,000. In Pennsylvania, officials were not allowed to begin processing mail-in ballots until Election Day under state law. In Nevada, there were a number of provisional ballots cast by voters who registered on Election Day, and officials had to verify their eligibility. The AP has declared Biden the winner in Arizona and said Thursday that it was monitoring the vote count as it proceeded.
EXPLAINER: A closer look at Arizona
Election officials arrive for work at the Maricopa County Recorder's Office, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Phoenix. The Associated Press has called the race in Arizona for Democrat Joe Biden. “The Associated Press continues to watch and analyze vote count results from Arizona as they come in,” said Sally Buzbee, AP’s executive editor. Many of the gains have been driven by the shifting politics of Maricopa County, which is home to Phoenix and its suburbs. Maricopa County accounts for 60% of the state’s vote.
Show your work: AP plans to explain vote calling to public
The AP plans to write stories explaining how its experts make decisions or why, in tight contests, they are holding back. “The general public has a more intense desire to understand it at a nitty-gritty level,” Buzbee said. The closer a race is, the more AP's decision desk relies on actual votes rather than VoteCast. The AP's sprawling election night operation also compiles the vote from across the United States, as it has since 1848. The AP's vote calls were 99.8% accurate in 2016, flawless in calling presidential and congressional elections in each state.
Peaceful protesters get lost in action-packed coverage
Muslim protesters pray before joining a demonstration in the death of George Lloyd , Sunday, May 31, 2020, in Miami. What's easy to get lost are peaceful protesters concerned about police treatment of minorities the raw wound reopened by George Floyd's death. When darkness falls and prime-time television begins, earnest activism is replaced by tense scenes of conflict unique in their breadth. Networks have done strong work covering demonstrations and speaking to peaceful protesters during the day, but what comes later is hard to compete with, said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. That gets lost in a newscast that goes from city to city, and scenes of looting or violence, Rather said.
Amid irregularities, AP unable to declare winner in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Associated Press said Thursday that it is unable to declare a winner of Iowa's Democratic caucuses. The AP's tabulation of the party's results are at 99% of precincts reporting, with data missing from one of 1,765 precincts, among other issues. Further, even as the Iowa Democratic Party’s effort to complete its tabulation of the caucus results continued Thursday, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez asked the Iowa Democratic Party to conduct a recanvass. The Iowa Democratic Party suggested it may not comply with Perez’s request, issuing a statement that said it would conduct a recanvass if one was requested by one of the candidates. The AP will continue to monitor the race, as well as the results of any potential recanvass or recount.