too close to call

1. Resulting in too narrow a margin to make a decision, as in That ball didn't miss by much but it was too close to call, or The election was too close to call, so they decided to have a runoff. This expression comes from sports, where call has signified “a judgment” since the mid-1600s. In the 1960s it began to be applied to pre-election polls and then to the outcome of elections.

Example Sentences

According to a poll on Portuguese TV on Wednesday, the current president sits second out of six candidates before October's elections - though some suggest it is too close to call between the top three names.

From BBC

The polls have been too close to call.

From BBC

Some seats are still too close to call.

From BBC

Won by Coalition MP Terry Young on a margin of 3% last election, it is now too close to call.

From BBC

The race to lead the Northern California city remained too close to call Tuesday night.

From Los Angeles Times