Election results determine the future of our country through policy decisions on domestic and foreign affairs, whether Americans have access to affordable health care, how law enforcement officers perform their duties in communities across America, the quality of air and water, how children are educated, and so much more. Election outcomes, especially unexpected ones, can leave a lasting impression on voters’ perceptions of the fairness of democracy.
Throughout the evening and into the days following Election Day, news outlets collect partial data from polling places to create estimates on which candidates will win races. These estimates, called projections, are based on different calculations that include different assumptions about how voters will vote. News outlets will not make a prediction about a race until their analysis makes them confident enough to call it—meaning they will continue to collect and analyze votes until they are ready to announce a call.
After a call is made, news outlets may devote less time to reporting ongoing vote counting, but they will still track the percentage of ballots counted. These numbers have limitations, however, because they do not include the number of ballots that are cast early in person or by mail, which may take longer to count and be reported. The number also does not include the percentage of all ballots that are yet to be counted, including provisional and military ballots.
Every state has a process for certifying official election results that can take days and in some cases weeks after Election Day to ensure that all ballots have been securely and accurately counted. This process is known as a canvass and includes reviewing all ballots that were not already counted, adding verified provisional ballots, and examining other aspects of the total votes to make sure there are no clerical errors.