Associated Press Explains Election Call Process as 2026 Races Approach

The Associated Press has answered the question “who won?” thousands of times since the news organization’s founding nearly 180 years ago, according to reporting from the wire service explaining its election calling process.

The AP’s role becomes crucial during election periods because the United States lacks a nationwide body that collects and releases election results, according to the organization. Elections are administered locally by thousands of offices following state-set standards, and many states do not offer up-to-date tracking of election results.

“The AP fills this gap by compiling vote results and declaring winners in elections, providing critical information in the period between Election Day and the official certification of results, which typically takes weeks,” the organization stated.

The process involves careful analysis of available vote tallies and election data to determine whether any circumstance exists for a trailing candidate to catch up to the leader. If not, the leading candidate is declared the winner.

To collect votes, the AP hires vote count reporters who work directly with local election officials to gather results from counties or precincts where votes are first counted, according to the organization. These reporters submit results by phone or electronically as soon as they become available. The AP also gathers results from state or county websites when available.

The AP’s vote count compiles information that might otherwise remain unavailable online for days or weeks after an election or be scattered across hundreds of local websites. Without national standards across states, the organization ensures data appears in standard format with consistent terms and undergoes quality control.

Counties often update vote totals throughout the night as they count ballots, and the AP continuously updates its count as results are released. During a general election, the AP makes as many as 21,000 vote updates per hour, according to the organization.

As votes arrive, AP analysts examine races to determine winners. A key consideration involves how many ballots remain uncounted and from which areas. When official tallies of outstanding votes are unavailable, the AP estimates turnout in every race based on several factors and uses that estimate to track counted votes versus remaining ballots.

The organization also determines how ballots counted so far were cast and identifies types of remaining votes, such as mail ballots or ballots cast in person on Election Day. This matters because voting methods can correlate to party preference.

Since voting by mail became politicized in the 2020 election, Democrats have been more likely to vote by mail while Republicans have been more likely to vote in person on Election Day, according to the AP.

Many states allow prediction of which votes will be counted first based on past elections or plans announced by election officials. In other states, votes are clearly marked by type when released.

This information helps determine whether an early lead will shrink or grow. For example, if a state first counts votes cast in person on Election Day followed by mail-in votes, an early Republican lead may narrow as more mail ballots are tabulated. However, if mail ballots are counted first, an early Republican lead could signal a comfortable victory.

In almost all cases, races can be called well before all votes are counted, according to the AP. The organization’s team of election journalists and analysts calls a race as soon as they can determine a clear winner.

The explanation comes as election season approaches, with the AP preparing to apply this systematic process to races across the country. The organization’s methodology aims to provide accurate, timely results in the gap between Election Day and official certification of results.