The Associated Press, the most trusted source of information on election night with a history of accuracy dating to 1848, will offer that expertise to its member news organizations, customers and the public across all platforms when it counts the vote and covers the results on Nov. 3.
With political reporters based across the country – and journalists on the ground in all 50 states – AP will continue to deliver campaign coverage and focus on the core issues affecting Americans, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis and national reckoning over race.
On election night AP will count the vote in 7,000 races, tallying the vote to elect the president, Congress and governors, plus state and some regional and local races. AP’s vote count is used by thousands of major news organizations and customers and is considered the definitive source of race results. No other national news organization can match AP’s footprint, on-the-ground knowledge or the deep expertise of our elections team.
The Associated Press also will deploy AP VoteCast, its accurate, wide-ranging survey of the American electorate, in all 50 states. AP VoteCast is conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News, NPR, PBS NewsHour, Univision News, USA Today Network, The Wall Street Journal and AP.
AP will declare the winner in the presidential race state by state, plus 35 Senate, 11 gubernatorial and 435 congressional races, using state-of-the-art analytical tools, its premier vote count and AP VoteCast to help determine when a race is decided. State-based race callers also will designate winners in about 6,000 additional down-ticket races, from state constitutional officers to state legislatures to ballot initiatives.
“In this election of intense global interest, we are focused on ensuring that our vote count, race calls, and our reporting of events are accurate, clear and trustworthy,” said AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Sally Buzbee. “We will be there to factually report what is occurring, as it happens, and we will transparently explain the math and analysis that lead us to declare winners.”
Here are the highlights of AP’s coverage plans:
- In addition to its robust text, photo and video coverage across all 50 states, AP will provide live video from voting sites across the U.S. – including in California, Florida, Michigan and Wisconsin – and campaign headquarters, as well as live shots overlooking the White House, Empire State Building and National Mall.
- Extensive explanatory journalism describing topics like how early voting works, the role of the Electoral College, and when the election outcome will be known, will be available in text, video and graphics.
- AP’s dedicated Fact Check team will continue to work with journalists in the U.S. and in 250 locations around the world to combat election-related misinformation in real time before, on and after election night.
- Timely updates on presidential and other key races will be available on APNews.com as well as on the AP News app. Push alerts and breaking news banners will provide the latest news. Download the app for iPhone or Android.
- AP Global Media Services will serve an array of TV broadcasters by operating live stand-up positions in key swing states, as well as in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, and custom live shots analyzing the outcome of the election in English, Spanish and French.
Follow AP’s election coverage: http://apne.ws/jCKkPi0
Contact
Lauren Easton
Global Director of Media Relations and Corporate Communications
The Associated Press
212-621-7005
leaston@ap.org
Patrick Maks
Media Relations Manager
The Associated Press
212-621-7536
pmaks@ap.org
