While some news outlets call races soon after polls close, it is important to remember that any race that is called has not been officially certified by election officials – this process can take days or even weeks. Moreover, even if a race is called, the actual vote count may change, leading to new winners.
A lot of time and effort goes into counting ballots. This includes the initial counting of in-person and absentee by mail ballots (which starts before Election Day in some states) as well as the official counting of votes on Election Night and in the days immediately following. These counts are reported to the public by local and state election officials. News media often track these results to provide updates to their viewers about what is happening with the vote counting.
The initial counting of ballots is also known as the canvass. In addition to this broader effort, there are often recounts of specific races, though this varies from state to state. Recounts are re-examinations of ballots, sometimes using different methods and with representatives from both candidates. The outcome of a recount is re-tabulation and certification of the final results of that particular race.
Research shows that the disconfirmation a voter feels is jointly influenced by their expectation or forecast (link 1.a) and the nature of the outcome they receive (link 1.b). That means that people who are surprised by a surprise winner may have lower satisfaction with democracy than those who expected an unexpected result.
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