NEVADA COUNTY, Calif. November 3, 2020 – Election Day is here, once polls close at 8:00 pm results and updates will be available on our Election Results page. The outcome of the presidential election or local contests may not be declared on Election Night, given the avalanche of vote by mail ballots.

Our intent is to report accurate results to you and provide context. Nevada County results are reported by us as updates become available after the initial tabulation shortly after 8:00 pm. These unofficial updates are part of the total votes that will be counted. California election offices accept mail-in ballots if postmarked by Nov. 3rd and the ballot arrives at the elections office up to 17 days after Election Day. Final, accurate results will take some time.

We will not “call” local contests on election night. Where possible, we will provide trends, comparing mail-in ballot results with election day voting and historical election data.

Providing context means reminders that some local races span more than one county – think NID District 3 for example with voters in both Nevada and Placer counties.

Tonight, if a local candidate claims being the winner or concedes a race, we will report it, but keep in mind any concession on election night is not legally binding and can it be retracted at any time.

In a first for us, we will publish Associated Press (AP) results for state and national contests. Thanks to our partners at Newspack we were able to acquire AP’s Election 2020 results. The AP uses approximately 4,000 stringers (freelancers) in all 50 states who call in raw vote totals from their assigned county election offices to AP desks around the country. AP’s team, including full-time election research and quality control analysts, ensure the accuracy of reported totals. “When tabulating results, AP publishes the percentage of precincts reporting alongside the vote count. In many states, this figure is a reasonably accurate estimate of how many votes have been counted — particularly in states that combine and report results of ballots cast in advance and those cast on Election Day.” [source: AP]

Buying AP’s election result service allows us to bring you detailed results for all California propositions, State Assembly and Senate. It also provides real-time results for U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and the presidential race.

All results published by election officials in California on election night and throughout the 30-day canvass period that starts no later than Thursday, November 5, 2020 are unofficial results. Once they are certified by the county elections officials and the Secretary of State, the results are official and final.

We encourage you to look at the official information published by both local and state elections officials first, but we are here to answer questions you may have during Election Day.