Election nights
| Where | Career Mode, full screen, before the result card of a race the player is standing in |
|---|---|
| Looks | Tug, wire, ladder, climb, blocks |
| Not used for | The presidential general election, which is shown on the presidency game's election-night screen; an unopposed nomination, which has no count at all |
Every Career Mode election night the player takes part in, other than the presidential general election, plays a short animated count before showing the usual result card. The result itself is decided before the count begins, so the count never changes the outcome. What it adds is the sequence leading up to it: the votes coming in, the order on screen changing, and a candidate crossing the winning line or finishing first.
How the count plays
The count never shows two smooth lines simply crossing once. The gap between the leading candidates can move in either direction and cross zero several times on a close night, and no candidate's total ever falls during the count. Whatever happens along the way, the very last moment of the count always lands exactly on the result that has already been decided. A Skip button jumps straight to the call. A field with only one candidate, such as an unopposed renomination, has no count at all and goes straight to the result card.
Each candidate is shown in their own party's colour, with a grey sliver representing the third party where one exists. On a count with a line a candidate must cross to win, that line only appears once a candidate has actually reached it. On a percentage-based race with such a line, the headline reads "Too Early to Call" until at least half of the votes are counted, however far ahead a candidate already appears.
The five looks
- Tug shows two names in one state. It is used for a governor's general election, the US Senate general election, a two-name primary, and the recall vote, headlined "A Majority Removes the Governor".
- Wire shows two names in one district. It is used for the general election for a state legislative seat or a US House seat.
- Ladder shows three or more names. It is used for any primary with three or more candidates, for Louisiana's open ballot, headlined "Every Name on One Ballot", for a multi-member seat, and for the early presidential contests.
- Climb shows a number the count must cross. It is used for the presidential contest on which the nomination can be clinched, and for the party convention, in both cases with the line marked as the number of delegates needed.
- Blocks shows a legislative chamber filling up. It is used for the President's midterm election, headlined "The House Is Counted", or "No Majority in the House" if neither side reaches one. This is the presidency game's own results screen. The seats shown on it are counted in the same way as every other Career Mode race.
Which night gets which
A seat or governor primary shows the top candidates in the field, including the player, as a tug if there are only two, or a ladder otherwise, and it calls the winner by name. A seat's general election in November shows the player, the opponent, and an "Others" category, as a tug for the US Senate or a wire for a district seat. A seat won outright on Louisiana's open ballot skips the count in November, since the result is simply the ballot read back. A governor's general election is always a tug.
A presidential contest night shows the leading candidates by delegate count, plus the player, as a ladder, calling that night's winner by name; the count's own leader, shown as whoever holds the most delegates overall, can be a different candidate from the one who won that particular night. Once a candidate is in reach of a majority, the look switches to a climb showing the number of delegates still needed. The nominating convention is shown the same way, as a climb across the states as they are called in order. If nobody wins a majority on the first vote at the convention, the count continues through further votes, showing the delegates of the last-placed candidate being redistributed until someone crosses the line.
The presidential general election
A career nominee's general election for the presidency is the one night this page does not cover. It is shown on the presidency game's own election-night screen, with the opposing nominee named. The result is counted state by state in the same way as every other Career Mode race; see Races and primaries. A career President's midterm election also uses a screen from the presidency game, and its House and Senate seats are counted in the same way.