Presidential Vote API Design: Popular Votes, Electoral Votes, and Scope
Presidential is an office label, not a universal counting rule. Keep U.S. popular totals, electoral allocations, and publication stages distinct.
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Election Data Articles
Election data is shaped by geography, reporting stages, and the organization responsible for a record. This collection explores how to preserve that context in feeds and interfaces. It distinguishes single-contest information from broader election indexes and treats presidential examples within their stated jurisdiction.
Read with three separate questions in mind: what happened, who reported it, and what the reported stage means. A changing count and a final determination should not acquire the same label simply because both fit into a numerical field. Keep source terminology available when presenting a simplified display.
Put the ideas to work
Compare the labels in a proposed data model with the labels in its source. Record every translation and any information lost during aggregation. When using a U.S. example, keep its scope explicit instead of assuming that another jurisdiction follows the same process. Use the responsible election authority for actual rules and records.
Questions to keep in view
- Which contest and geographic unit does the record describe?
- Is the status reported directly by its source?
- Does the timestamp describe observation, retrieval, or publication?
- Are unlike result types being placed on the same scale?
Read this collection.
Election Data APIs: Provenance, Timestamps, and Result Status
An election total needs more than a number. Build records that explain their source, geographic coverage, publication stage, and revision history.
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Use these focused pages to connect the article discussion to the wider VoteAPI.com guide.
Choose another starting point
The Lab connects API design to the purpose of the information and the people using it. Explore the complete collection to compare related questions and discover a useful next step.
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