![EXPLAINER: Why do the media call races in US elections?](https://www.news4jax.com/resizer/njBaS2mQuhcZeA40699Oxjz5s9s=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/I2HUZCYM3JB2HEW5FGMFAFAE3Y.jpg)
EXPLAINER: Why do the media call races in US elections?
The Associated Press and the major TV networks have long played a major role in announcing the victor in elections based on their own data. There is no national elections commission to tell the world who wins on election day, unlike in many other countries. A FRAGMENTED PROCESSThe expectation of same-day election results is a modern one, as is the notion of one single Election Day. So the vacuum remained between individual statesโ results and the countryโs collective decision. Major U.S. television networks follow roughly the same process, using either AP's vote count or another vote count to call races.
![After waiting game, media moves swiftly to call Biden winner](https://www.news4jax.com/resizer/aEDSIIXo0m0ex7eeCG3P4dYQTcw=/1600x904/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/AQ7JGYIFLFCQFGOY5BWA3KMAOY.jpg)
After waiting game, media moves swiftly to call Biden winner
Because votes are counted state by state, verdicts by the media outlets' decision desks serve as the unofficial finish line for the presidential race. The closeness of the race in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina proved another challenge. โWe just have to be certain before we call a winner in the presidential election,โ said Sally Buzbee, executive editor and senior vice president of the AP. Heading into Saturday, CNN, CBS, NBC and ABC โ which coordinate their vote counts and exit polls โ had Biden at 253 electoral votes. All know that calling a presidential election wrong is a career-wrecker.
![The count goes on โ with Biden on the cusp of presidency](https://www.news4jax.com/resizer/ODYv4dVEzpYGGm0wNI3-_UTfnt8=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/KOB3RG6BENFO3IL2YPGUJCIIVM.jpg)
The count goes on โ with Biden on the cusp of presidency
WASHINGTON โ Democrat Joe Biden stood on the cusp of winning the presidency Friday night, three days after Election Day, as the long, exacting work of counting votes widened his lead over President Donald Trump in critical battleground states. There was intense focus on Pennsylvania, where Biden led Trump by more than 27,000 votes, and Nevada, where the Democrat led by about 22,000. In Pennsylvania, officials were not allowed to begin processing mail-in ballots until Election Day under state law. In Nevada, there were a number of provisional ballots cast by voters who registered on Election Day, and officials had to verify their eligibility. The AP has declared Biden the winner in Arizona and said Thursday that it was monitoring the vote count as it proceeded.
![2020 Latest: Biden says 'no one' will take US democracy away](https://www.news4jax.com/resizer/NM7dmggib72j_hmYgVT8XepdQW8=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/ETTWH54FFBEIPCCNUFXWAY4MMU.jpg)
2020 Latest: Biden says 'no one' will take US democracy away
The nation is waiting to learn whether Biden or Trump will collect the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the presidency. As the hearing unfolded Thursday evening, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden were locked in a tight battle for the 20 electoral votes in Pennsylvania. Trump last appeared in public early Wednesday, when he falsely declared victory over Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential race. The presidential race has not yet been called because neither Trump nor Biden has yet collected the requisite 270 Electoral College votes. Still, Trumpโs campaign has held out hope that continued counting in Arizona could overcome a Biden lead in the state.
![EXPLAINER: A closer look at Arizona](https://www.news4jax.com/resizer/Yy1eQsqoGKAqdNwjKUZb52dlwjs=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/OKRIWCPEU5FRNIKOYP6SSQMXNQ.jpg)
EXPLAINER: A closer look at Arizona
Election officials arrive for work at the Maricopa County Recorder's Office, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Phoenix. The Associated Press has called the race in Arizona for Democrat Joe Biden. โThe Associated Press continues to watch and analyze vote count results from Arizona as they come in,โ said Sally Buzbee, APโs executive editor. Many of the gains have been driven by the shifting politics of Maricopa County, which is home to Phoenix and its suburbs. Maricopa County accounts for 60% of the stateโs vote.
![Behind the curtain: How News4Jax reports election results, calls states](https://www.news4jax.com/resizer/GG46pQQSqAP30y8aKHVHYpoo6Z8=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/OYB7GRPYWVA4NOS3O54H2QGFXI.jpg)
Behind the curtain: How News4Jax reports election results, calls states
News4Jax also collects race results from counties in our Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia viewing area and the secretary of state offices of both states. In 2016, the AP declared at 2:29 a.m. the morning after the election that Trump had won Wisconsin and, thus, the presidency. โI think the responsibility of the news organizations goes beyond transparency,โ said Mark Lukasiewicz, former producer of NBCโs election night coverage and now dean of Hofstra Universityโs School of Communication. The AP's vote calls were 99.8% accurate in 2016, flawless in calling presidential and congressional elections in each state. The APโs tradition of counting votes on election night dates back to the Pony Express.
![Show your work: AP plans to explain vote calling to public](https://www.news4jax.com/resizer/gEofsOQToKm_GsRjdVpngar_J4g=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/72XAOYF6IRBEJITOTQUWGAL42M.jpg)
Show your work: AP plans to explain vote calling to public
The AP plans to write stories explaining how its experts make decisions or why, in tight contests, they are holding back. โThe general public has a more intense desire to understand it at a nitty-gritty level,โ Buzbee said. The closer a race is, the more AP's decision desk relies on actual votes rather than VoteCast. The AP's sprawling election night operation also compiles the vote from across the United States, as it has since 1848. The AP's vote calls were 99.8% accurate in 2016, flawless in calling presidential and congressional elections in each state.
![Peaceful protesters get lost in action-packed coverage](https://www.news4jax.com/resizer/N3i2gNe6DA5KJJNB1gAvmt7CbQA=/1600x1143/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/UZLSIZFXSNEFRMRMDSCQLVOR3E.jpg)
Peaceful protesters get lost in action-packed coverage
Muslim protesters pray before joining a demonstration in the death of George Lloyd , Sunday, May 31, 2020, in Miami. What's easy to get lost are peaceful protesters concerned about police treatment of minorities the raw wound reopened by George Floyd's death. When darkness falls and prime-time television begins, earnest activism is replaced by tense scenes of conflict unique in their breadth. Networks have done strong work covering demonstrations and speaking to peaceful protesters during the day, but what comes later is hard to compete with, said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. That gets lost in a newscast that goes from city to city, and scenes of looting or violence, Rather said.