When people see election results reported on TV, they often assume the result is final. However, the reality is that there are several steps in the electoral process that still must be completed before a winner can be declared. These processes involve a mix of professional election administrators and political officials, volunteers, and members of the public. They may take days or weeks to complete. They can also be complicated by factors like ballot challenges and audits.
The outcome of an election can differ widely from expectations, resulting in negative disconfirmation (link 1.a and link 1.b) for voters. According to research, the nature of this disconfirmation is influenced by one’s expectation and whether or not the actual result exceeds or falls short of it.
As a result, it is important for people to have access to accurate and trustworthy information about how elections work. This includes the news media and websites dedicated to election reporting, such as AP and Reuters, and to avoid sources that tend to highlight sensational or dramatic headlines (like TikTok, Facebook and X).
Moreover, people can feel confident in the fairness of an electoral system only when they are satisfied with the accuracy of the official election results. In the ANES, respondents were asked how often they think “votes are counted fairly in this country’s elections,” with possible answers ranging from very often to not at all often (link 2). A higher level of confidence and satisfaction results when the outcome matches or exceeds expectations.