Methodology

Data is sourced from the National Election Pool, a consortium of American news outlets which collects together voting data from across the United States.

This data is collected by reporters across the country, as well as government-run streams of results. The data is collected at both state and county level, allowing us to explore trends at a localised level.

Calls for who has won a state is decided by the National Election Pool, not the Telegraph. To do this, they make sure there is enough evidence to suggest that one party has won over the other. This can mean that in some cases, races are called days, if not weeks after the polls have closed. Once an election is called, the number of Electoral College Votes that state has is added to the overall tally.

The Telegraph has made the editorial decision that Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada are considered swing states. This is because the margins of victories in previous elections were smaller and polling has suggested close races. We made a similar choice of which parties leaned Democrat or Republican based on historic election results.

Similarly, the Telegraph has chosen to show the results of just five candidates or parties based on polling before the election and their likelihood of having a significant impact on the race in some areas.