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You may, unfortunately, find yourself staring at election results displays for hours on end today. As a person who builds those displays for a living, there is a thread of some things I think are important to know:
1) Vote tabulation is a mathematical process, not a narrative one. States don't "tip" or "move" as the night goes on. Margins don't "narrow." The votes are what they are, and we're seeing the numbers as they're counted, not as they're cast.
2) None of these counts are official! They're useful, and they are not completely inaccurate. But the final, official state totals are not certified for a couple of weeks after election night. This has always been the case, despite the perception of "election night victory."
3) Anyone who shows you a geographic map of electoral college results is lying to you. Those maps measure land. But land doesn't vote. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/how-election-maps-lie/ Trump and his allies have repeatedly used these geographic maps to mislead the public about the 2016 results.
In my honest, informed opinion, almost all of the election night coverage is manufactured drama. If this wasn't my job, I would absolutely start a movie marathon and then go to bed. You're not learning anything valuable by watching "live" results. Take care of yourself tonight.
