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Mail-in votes in recent elections have heavily favored Democrats — and in some states, counties report those ballots first. That can create a so-called "blue mirage" that could result in only narrow victories for Democrats or even substantial victories for Republicans.

Voter fraud does happen occasionally. And when it does, we tend to hear a lot about it. Fraud also gets caught, and people are prosecuted. The nation's multilayered election processes provide many safeguards that keep voter fraud generally detectable and rare.

In most races, the winners can be identified long before the statutory deadline specified in state law. For more than 170 years, The Associated Press has called races as soon as the winners can be determined, filling what can be a critical information void after Election Day.

One question that will be asked over and over again on election night is "Who won?" The Associated Press will answer that question for nearly 5,000 contested races across the United States.

Elections are a foundation of democracy, but they're also human exercises. Despite all the laws and rules governing how they should run, elections can sometimes appear to be messy. The U.S. election system is highly decentralized, carried out by thousands of municipal and county voting jurisdictions. Despite its imperfections, it reliably produces certified outcomes that stand up to scrutiny.