The countdown to election night can be a roller coaster of anxiety and stress. The media will cover every twist and turn, pundits will debate, and misinformation can be spread to heighten the tension. It’s important to take steps to protect your mental well-being and stay grounded as the results come in. Here are some tips to help you manage your emotions and protect yourself against manipulation.
Almost all states require that the winner of the state’s statewide popular vote receive all its electoral college votes (‘one person, one vote’). A few states allow for a small number of electoral votes to be allocated by county or district within the state, but these are generally not used.
Many voters look to their elected officials for information about the process, including how votes are tabulated and how election results are reported. A number of factors can impact how and when election results are finalized and communicated with voters, including the timing of the announcement of results on election day and the timeline for certifying official election results.
This article examines how perceptions of electoral integrity can be impacted by how election results are reported. In particular, we focus on the gap between unexpected winners and expected losers in assessing the fairness of the election. Unexpected winners are more, not less, suspicious about the electoral process if they feel they were treated unfairly than expected losers. This gap has been consistently found in ANES surveys from 1996 through 2020.
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