How News Teams Pick the President

Election night is excitement time! Imagining all those votes being counted while you watch the results come in on TV or online. But how exactly do news organizations say who wins? They’ve got a secret squad called “decision desks” that use data, math, and talking to voters to figure it out. In fact, they don’t need every single vote counted to declare a winner. These experts use special surveys and models to understand who’s ahead and by how much. This year, some use surveys like AP VoteCast, while others rely on exit polls and voter data.

Each news team has their own rules to make a call, usually needing to be super sure, like 99. 5% sure. Sometimes they get ahead of each other in calling a race, like Fox News did in 2020. It’s important to trust these calls. Even though mistakes happen (like in 2000), they’re pretty rare. Next time you see a winner announced, remember who really did all the work!

How News Teams Pick the President - Trust the Process

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