How the AP is able to declare winners in states where polls just closed

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press declared winners Tuesday in some states where polls had just closed, and in some cases before any votes had been released.

How is that possible?

While hotly contested races that take hours or days to count may attract the most attention, the AP for decades has called landslide or uncontested races at poll closing time.

That’s what happened Tuesday, when AP declared Vice President Kamala Harris the winner in California and Washington and former President Donald Trump the winner in Idaho as polls closed in those states at 11 p.m. ET. The AP also declared winners as poll closed in earlier states, as well as in some races for U.S. Senate and governor.

The AP considers multiple factors and analyzes available data before determining whether a winner can be declared when polls close in a given state. But the AP will never declare the outcome in a competitive contest before enough votes are counted to make…