Understanding the 'Expected Vote'
In election coverage, you will often hear the term 'expected vote'. This is a crucial estimate used to understand the scope of an election as results come in.
The 'expected vote' refers to the estimated total number of votes anticipated in a specific election race once all ballots are counted.
This figure is not a final number, but a working projection. It helps news organizations and the public gauge what percentage of the total vote has been reported at any given time.
This figure is an estimate that considers several factors, including the number of early votes cast and information provided by county election officials to vote reporters on Election Day.
Because it is an estimate based on the best available data, the expected vote total can change as new information is collected by NBC News.
Source of Data and Projections
It's important to know where this information originates:
- Vote data is provided by the Associated Press.
- Projections based on that data are made by the NBC News Decision Desk.