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How do Media Organizations Report Election Results in Real Time?

VOA News

   As Americans prepare to go to polling stations on Election Day this
   Nov.3, U.S. news organizations are preparing to report the count which
   will determine the winners of more than 7,000 races, including the
   White House, House and Senate seats, state offices, and local
   legislative positions.

   In the United States, news organizations observe the vote count in real
   time and use a variety of information to determine when they can
   declare a winner in each race, including overall vote totals, exit
   polling of voters, and the estimated number of votes still uncounted in
   each precinct.

   Here's how it works and what news organizations do to help ensure they
   do not make a mistake.

   Who announces winners in U.S. elections?

   State election officials are the ones who certify the vote count, but
   long before every ballot has been counted, the American news media use
   a variety of data sources and tools to project the winners. Using a
   collection of raw vote totals, statistical techniques, and projections,
   the news organizations, which have been covering American presidential
   elections continuously since 1848, have had an excellent -- but not
   perfect -- record of calling race winners.

   How do news organizations count the vote returns on election night?

   Votes are tabulated county by county by the Associated Press, a
   non-profit news agency which uses its national network of more than
   4,000 reporters on election night to record the vote tallies from
   county clerks and other local officials. The AP also gathers
   information from state websites that post election returns. Reporters
   feed that information back to AP's vote counting operation, where
   analysts make decisions about which races are ready to be called.

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