The famous election prognosticator, New York Times’s 'Needle', was projecting an 84 per cent chance of a Donald Trump victory with about 295 electoral college votes based on its data at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday (9 a.m. Wednesday in India).
The 'Needle' swings as the data that comes in is analysed in real-time and makes the projection it considers valid at that time.
A little before 10 p.m., it showed Trump at nearly 290 seats before swinging down five to 285 at 10 p.m. and rising 30 minutes later to 295.
The 'Needle' makes longer-range projections beyond those made by The Associated Press and networks like NBC and Fox News by combining the incoming polling trends with demographic and historical data.
At 10 p.m., the electoral college votes that have been called by the media were 198 for Trump to 112 for Harris.
The New York Times was struggling with its computer systems because its union of technology workers was on strike over pay and working conditions.
The newspaper acknowledged the problem and wrote, “Publishing the ‘Needle’ live on election night relies on computer systems maintained by engineers across the company, including some who are currently on strike”.
“How we display our election forecast will depend on those systems, as well as incoming data feeds, and we will only publish a live version of the ‘Needle’ if we are confident those systems are stable”, it said.
Apparently, it is confident of the system’s ability to handle the projections.
On the eve of the election, the newspaper’s poll had given Harris a 3 per cent lead over Trump.
The RealClear Polling’s aggregation had Trump with a 0.6 per cent lead, which is a virtual tie.
‘Pahalgam incident deeply disturbing & tragic’: Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday termed the Pahalgam terror attack as disturbing & tragic and also condoled the victims and their families.
Congress finally deletes 'Gayab' post targeting PM Modi after outrage
Under fire from the BJP over its social media post targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress finally, on Tuesday, took down the controversial post.
Guterres calls EAM Jaishankar, Pak PM Sharif; stresses pursuing justice in Pahalgam terror attack
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the importance of pursuing justice in the Pahalgam terrorist attack while speaking with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shebaz Sharif, his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.
Congress organises ‘Save Constitution’ rallies across NE states
The opposition Congress has been organising ‘Samvidhan Bachao’ (Save Constitution) campaign in the northeastern states. Claiming that the Constitution is in danger under the BJP-led Central government, the opposition Congress held a massive rally in Agartala on Tuesday.
RSS chief Bhagwat meets PM Modi after security huddle: Signs of a hard-hitting response in the works
In a significant political development, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg on Tuesday evening.
What PM Modi's free hand to armed forces against terror means for cross-border action?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unambiguous message during a high-level security meeting - ‘India is determined to deliver a crushing blow to terrorism’ - marks more than just a strong statement of resolve.
Justice BR Gavai appointed as next Chief Justice of India
Justice Gavai was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on May 29, 2019. Appointed as Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in November 2003, he became a permanent Judge in November 2005.
Three more Bangladeshi nationals held in Tripura
The Tripura Frontier of the Border Security Force (BSF) on Tuesday apprehended three Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman, for illegally entering India, officials said.