ATLANTA — The Associated Press has a long history of projecting election winners, and its decisions have become a hallmark of election night news coverage.
Now, the AP's newsroom leader is working to explain how her team makes its calls.
During a one-on-one interview with The Georgia Vote, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace described the process the AP uses to project winners.
It's important to note: in Georgia, the Secretary of State's Office provides official results. But the AP's long-running work projecting winners often provides an early look at the ultimate victors.
Pace said her team uses a combination of sophisticated mathematical models and experienced human editors to track ballot returns and project winners in races all across Georgia -- and the country.
With a major election just weeks away, Pace said her team is focused on not only projecting winners but also publicly explaining how they reach their decisions.
"Our standard when we're going to call a race is very simple," Pace said. "We look at the worst-case scenario: is there any mathematical way that the trailing candidate can catch up? And if that is possible still, we won't call the race. When we're certain that the trailing candidate cannot catch up, then we'll call the race."
The executive editor said that readers -- and viewers -- can expect additional reporting accompanying major race calls in the November election describing in detail how the AP reached its decisions.
"It's important to know we will not call a race while polls are still open," she added. "We want to make sure that voters have the chance to cast their ballots before we would ever call a race."
See the extended interview with Pace here: