In the past 25 years, many Americans have stayed up late on election nights, eagerly awaiting the outcome of the suspenseful race. The 2000 election, in particular, between George W. Bush and Al Gore, became a legendary display of suspense, especially with the nail-biting Florida results.
This year, it’s not likely we’ll know who won right away since Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are very close in the polls. The final results will depend on a few key states.
So, when will the results be announced? It depends on how tight the race is. States like Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin take longer to count votes, sometimes needing days to finish. If Harris wins by a large margin in other swing states, she could be declared the winner sooner. Otherwise, we must wait.
News organizations announce who they think has won, but they don’t make the final decision. Election office officials confirm the results, which can take days or even weeks. David Scott from the Associated Press says they only call a winner when they are certain that trailing candidates can’t win anymore.
Many organizations, like CNN and NBC, use a “decision desk” and models to predict outcomes state by state. They’ve become increasingly cautious about making early calls, learning from past situations like in 2000, where they had to backtrack on declaring a winner. This caution is to ensure the most accurate and reliable information for the public.
In 2020, Joe Biden was called the winner four days after the election when he reached the necessary electoral votes after several states were called. This year, results may come in faster if the margins are larger, but if they’re very close or if recounts are needed, it will take longer.
Some states have specific rules that delay counting. For example, Pennsylvania can’t even open mail-in ballots until election day. Similarly, Arizona’s early counting can make a big difference in results.
Often, early results show one candidate in the lead, but as more ballots are counted, the situation can change. This was seen in 2020 when Trump initially led before Biden took over as more mail-in ballots were counted.
The US election system is complex. Each state counts votes separately, and winning a state gives a candidate all its electoral votes. To win the presidency, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes. This was seen in 2020, where Biden won the popular vote, which is the total number of votes cast, but had more electoral votes due to the Electoral College system.
As for Congress, it’s often unclear which party has control on election night. With 435 congressional races, some will likely be too close to call immediately.
In summary, the timing of the election results depends on the closeness of the races and the specific rules of each state.
