By — Deema Zein Deema Zein By — Matt Loffman Matt Loffman Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-the-associated-press-tracks-and-calls-races-on-election-night Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio Nearly 40 million votes have already been cast for races that will determine not only who controls Congress, but also governors, mayors and city councils. For many years, PBS News has relied on the Associated Press to keep track of results, and we will again next Tuesday. Deema Zein takes a closer look at how the AP counts the vote. Listen to this Segment By — Deema Zein Deema Zein Deema Zein is a digital anchor, correspondent for PBS News/ PBS News Hour. By — Matt Loffman Matt Loffman Matt Loffman is the PBS NewsHour's Deputy Senior Politics Producer @mattloff
How the Associated Press tracks and calls races on Election Night
In short
Major elections determining congressional power, governorships, and municipal offices are already underway, with nearly 40 million early ballots cast so far. PBS News plans to continue its long-standing tradition of relying entirely on the Associated Press to monitor and report the incoming numbers on Tuesday night. To explain this behind-the-scenes operation, correspondent Deema Zein investigates the specific procedures the agency uses to track vote counts and declare official winners.
Key points
- The upcoming election will decide critical leadership positions including Congress, gover…: The upcoming election will decide critical leadership positions including Congress, governors, and local city councils.
- News organizations depend on the established tallying process of the Associated Press to…: News organizations depend on the established tallying process of the Associated Press to ensure accurate broadcast results.
- Millions of Americans have already participated in the electoral process prior to Tuesday…: Millions of Americans have already participated in the electoral process prior to Tuesday night's official vote tracking.