News media don’t run elections. Why do they call the winners?

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s up to governments to run and administer elections and maintain the official record of who won and by how much. But getting the final, official results for any election can take the states anywhere from several days to more than a month after the last polls close. In most races, the winners can be identified long before the statutory deadline specified in state law. For more than 170 years, The Associated Press has called races as soon as the winners can be determined, filling what can be a critical information void after Election Day.