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Slow down!
That was the plea from many voters on social media Tuesday night once news outlets began breathlessly speculating whether states were leaning toward Donald Trump or Joe Biden in the presidential race — sometimes just minutes after polls in each state had closed.
While the Associated Press called Kentucky and West Virginia for Trump, and Vermont and Virginia for Biden early on Election Night as the earliest poll locations closed and results began to come in, many cable news networks began pushing out breaking news alerts noting that battleground states like Florida and Georgia were still too early to call.
And that led the term “too early to call” to begin trending on Twitter TWTR, +5.72% early Election Night — not just from journalist sharing election updates but also from voters complaining that the constant push notifications were making them even more anxious about a pivotal election that’s already driving many to stress-eat or lean on alcohol.
While some optimists, including Democratic campaign operative James Carville, may be convinced that the election will be decided Tuesday night, the counting of mail-in and absentee ballots from states such as Pennsylvania is expected to push back the final call, possibly into the end of the week — or, some fear, even into next month. More than 100 million Americans voted early, and some states have rules requiring that they wait until Election Day to begin counting those votes.
Read more:Could Election Night 2020 drag on for days, or even weeks? These states may offer clues
If the constant updates are giving you panic attacks, mental health experts have shared their tips for getting through Election Night (or Election Week) here. We’ve also got a list of 20 shows to stream if you need to escape the stress of Election Night.
Or if you thrive on following every minute of the presidential horse race, bookmark MarketWatch’s Election Day live blog here.
