What is Decision Desk HQ, the service that helps news outlets make race calls?

The polls may close on the night of Nov. 5, but it can take days, weeks and sometimes even months before the results of an election are officially certified — especially a high-stakes presidential race.
The waiting period can be frustrating and nerve-wracking as election officials deal with inquiries and the public tries to navigate false information or preemptive claims of victory.
Media outlets and election officials are working to present the public with accurate information after Election Day. And, in an attempt to provide the public with timely projections or results, media outlets often work with data aggregators to help call elections.
The three most popular race callers used by various media outlets include The Associated Press, the Edison Research/The National Election Pool and Decision Desk HQ.
Each race caller uses different methods and standards on how or when they decide to call a race based on unofficial or certified results. Individual media outlets choose companies they plan to work with.
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Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) launched as an independent provider of election results, race calls and data in 2012. It was the first provider to call the presidency for former President Donald Trump in 2016 and for President Joe Biden in 2020. In 2022, DDHQ says it projected the U.S. Senate, House and governor races with 100% accuracy, beating The Associated Press’ race calls 71% of the time.
DDHQ uses technology like data-scraping as well as real people on the ground at polling sites to call races. For larger elections, like the presidential election, DDHQ is strategic about choosing which states and localities to send staff to. The election results are provided to media outlets to display on air and on their websites.
“In addition to election night returns, we also collect and curate absentee and early vote tallies, FEC data and polling data,” DDHQ says.
DDHQ goes beyond offering election results data. The company can also provide media outlets with pre-election and exit polling and historical election data. DDHQ’s election models can be modified with variables to better give the public an understanding of how elections can turn out.