How to Host an Election Night Watch Party

Last updated: November 12, 2024

Election night can be an exciting time to gather with friends to watch the results drip in.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to planning and hosting a successful election night watch party.

Why you should listen to me: My name is Nick Gray. I’ve hosted hundreds of parties. And I’m hosting an Election Night party myself this year. I’ve been written about in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Businessweek, and the New York Times. I love hosting people and I run this website for fun. I also wrote a book about how to host a meetup.

The Venue

I strongly recommend hosting this party at your home. Hosting at home is the best because:

• The party might go very late.
• You can serve your own snacks and drinks.
• Hosting at home is more generous.
• Your friends can relax on the couch instead of crowd together at a loud bar.

If you can’t host at home, you’ll want to find a place where you can watch and hear the TV, have great WiFi, and lounge around for hours. Hotel lobby bars are sometimes good for this.

If you haven’t yet hosted a housewarming party, here’s exactly how to host one.

Guest List

This is the most controversial bit of my guide, but I’ll just say it:

I think you want to curate a guest list that is politically aligned. 

I do NOT think you want a mix of Democrats and Republicans, for example.

Instead, I think if all of your friends are Democrats, then you probably only want to watch a party with a bunch of other Democrats.

I remember in 2016 when I lived in New York City. I was watching the election results come in at a party in Brooklyn. Maybe 95% of the room was voting Democrat and wow, that was horrible energy as Donald Trump was the surprise winner.

People were sad. So many people went home crying even. Be careful about who you watch the election results with, and who you invite. I think you either want to commiserate all together or you want to celebrate all together… with nothing in between.

Timeline

Polls across the U.S. typically close between 6 PM and 9 PM local time. Most states might have preliminary results or a clear trend by late evening of November 5th

• Some states might start reporting results as soon as polls close in their area. States with early voting or mail-in ballots that can be processed early might report initial results relatively quickly.
• Key swing states: Georgia, North Carolina, and Michigan are among the swing states where results might be known within hours after polls close, due to efficient vote counting or less reliance on mail-in ballots which take longer to count.
• Delays Expected: States like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and potentially Georgia might take longer due to the significant number of mail-in ballots. 

Election Night Bingo

I’m writing a separate post about that! More to come, but for now, here’s my preliminary list:

1. Record voter turnout reported
2. Social media post read on air
3. “Too Close to Call”
4. “Ground Game”
5. “Unprecedented election”
6. “Blue Wave”
7. “Red Wave”
8. Reference to Nebraska’s 2nd District
9. Recount mentioned
10. Interview with a voter at polling place
11. Exit poll results shown
12. Mention of a Swing State
13. Absentee ballot discussion
14. Early voting numbers
15. Super PAC funding
16. Mention of the electoral college
17. Rant about Mail-in voting
18. Breaking News segment
19. Reference to a previous election
20. Celebrity endorses a candidate
21. Mention of Election Day weather
22. Voting machine malfunction
23. “Too Close to Call”
24. Network Calls Florida
25. Pennsylvania Results Announced
26. First State Called
27. Concession Speech
28. Technical Glitch On-Air
29. Analyst Uses Touch Screen
30. Third Party Vote Impact
31. Weather Affects Turnout
32. Swing State Flips
33. Voter Interview Segment
34. Technical Difficulties
35. Early Results Reversed

Food and Drinks

Generally think of food and drinks on election night like how you’d plan for a Super Bowl party.

It’s long, there are ups and downs, and it’s long.

Go light on the alcohol, if any. Keep the snacks simple at first, but roll out heartier options as the night goes on.

For food, keep it simple and crowd-pleasing with these party favorites:

• Chips and dip
• Guacamole and salsa
• Chicken wings (provide napkins and wet wipes!)
• Vegetable platter
• Pizza
• Cheese and crackers
• Mixed nuts
• Brownies and cookies (people LOVE cookies)
• Grapes
• Pretzels or potato chips or other salty snacks
• Mini sandwiches
• Meatballs

For drinks and beverages, again, keep it simple:

• Soft drinks: cola and diet
• Water: still and sparkling
• Alcohol: beer and hard seltzers

Swing State Snacks

Consider these special snack options for swing state reveals:

🌵 ARIZONA: Arizona Iced Tea

🍑 GEORGIA: Peach Cobbler

🚗 MICHIGAN: Detroit Style Pizza Bites

🍤 NEVADA: Shrimp Cocktail

🍫 PENNSYLVANIA: Hershey’s Chocolate

🧀 WISCONSIN: Cheese Curds

🍩 NORTH CAROLINA: Krispy Kreme Donuts

Tips and Tricks

• Tell people to bring their laptops for coworking, scrolling X / Twitter, looking at social media, and more.
• Have your WiFi information easily accessible or printed on a handy QR code for people to join. I like this free tool for easily making and printing WiFi QR codes.
• If your home is a shoes-off house, tell people in advance.
• Elections can run late. Have comfort food available for late-night cravings, like pizza or sandwiches.
• Have multiple screens available like a big screen television playing the news but then some smaller screens if you can playing some other news channels.

Conclusion

Election night watch parties can be memorable events when planned thoughtfully. Remember these key takeaways:

1. Keep your guest list politically aligned – this helps create a better atmosphere for everyone
2. Think of it like a Super Bowl party – plan for a long evening with plenty of snacks
3. Set up multiple screens for different news channels
4. Consider serving themed snacks based on swing states – it adds a fun touch to the evening
5. Have comfortable seating and good WiFi for everyone
6. Go easy on the alcohol – election nights can run long and emotions can run high

The most important thing is creating a comfortable environment where your friends can gather, watch results, and share the experience together. Have fun!! 

In my book, The 2-Hour Cocktail Party, I provide helpful guidance on how to host a great party for any event. I wrote this book to support anyone interested in meeting new people.

When is your party? Send me an email and I will give you some bonus tips, including a pre-party checklist that you can print out. Plus, I’ll answer any question you have, free of charge. I love talking about parties, and I’m on a mission to help 1000 people host their first party.