US election results: Why media's role makes American voting system so different
American media outlets play a unique role in declaring election winners‚ unlike other democratic nations where official bodies handle this task. This system emerged from the countrys vast size and complex voting structure
In todays US elections final results might take several days to emerge due to a one-of-a-kind system where news-outlets announce winners. The Associated Press leads this non-official but well-established process which differs from most democratic nations election procedures
The practice doesnt have any legal standing: its just a work-around solution for Americas huge size and diverse state rules. Back in mid-19th century states could pick voting dates between nov-dec until the government made a single election day (a change that happened about 179 years ago)
The Associated Press started result-calling when telegraph lines first spread across America: they forecast electoral college outcomes which determine the president. This method helps deal with slow vote-counting in a country where each state follows its own vote-counting rules; meanwhile other big democracies like the UK or France finish counting in just hours
The US ballot system is extra-complex because it includes many positions at once:
- Presidential race
- Congress seats
- State officials
- Local school boards
- County positions
This step-by-step result release (instead of one big announcement) sometimes creates issues — like the protest about 24 years ago or when Donald Trump demanded to “stop counting“ roughly 4 years ago
