Election results tell you who won and lost. AP VoteCast tells you why

When the dust settles from Monday’s first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, the returns will reveal who had Republican caucusgoers’ vote, but they won’t shed much light on the types of people who voted or what was on their minds as they cast their ballots. That’s where AP VoteCast comes in.

Launched in 2018, AP VoteCast is a comprehensive survey of both voters and nonvoters that aims to tell the story behind the election results. Conducted for The Associated Press and Fox News by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, it’s a detailed snapshot of the American electorate that helps explain who voted, who didn’t vote, what issues they care about, how they feel about the candidates and why they voted the way they did.

It’s also a powerful resource that the AP analyzes, along with vote results and other election data, to help declare winners on election nights in contests across the country.

How does AP VoteCast work?

AP VoteCast uses a combination of methods —…