ABC News: "A 'Red Mirage,' Or An Artificial GOP Vote Lead, Will Likely Reoccur Tuesday"

A "red mirage," or an artificial GOP vote lead, will likely reoccur Tuesday. https://t.co/tagIbNJscC

— ABC News (@ABC) November 7, 2022

Early election night results might not indicate final tallies (and why that's OK)

A "red mirage," or an artificial GOP vote lead, will likely reoccur Tuesday.

By Isabella Murray
November 7, 2022, 5:15 AM

As early Election Day results come in on Tuesday, it will likely appear that a Republican candidates vying for any number of the federal or statewide races appear to be leading their Democratic opponents, even by large margins.

Their leads will dwindle, or crumble completely, after perceived "dumps" of votes are recorded by state election officials who count mail-in and absentee ballots in the days -- or even weeks -- following Election Day.

This phenomenon was popularized as the "red mirage" or the "blue shift" after the 2020 presidential election, when former President Donald Trump took a deceptive lead in several competitive states on Election Day due to delays in counting of Democrats' mail-in ballots -- their preferred method of voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- only to eventually dissipate when the entire reserve of votes was totaled.

The illusion was a principal component of Trump and his allies' false claims that the contest was fraudulent upon his ultimate loss to Joe Biden.

Washington Post: @henryolsenEPPC 2022 Midterms Forecast

SENATE
Republicans — 54
Democrats — 46

✅ GOP Pick Ups: AZ, GA, NV and NH

HOUSE
Republicans — 246
Democrats — 189https://t.co/zoDfjbqZg7 pic.twitter.com/DEgwWtOdmf

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) November 7, 2022

Jean-Pierre: "We may not know all the winners of elections for a few days. It takes time to count all legitimate ballots in a legal and orderly manner. That's how this is supposed to work." pic.twitter.com/UPPpMjVCNK

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 7, 2022