The United States (US) voted on November 5–Election Day–to elect its next President. Millions have already participated in early voting to choose their next president. The final votes were cast on Tuesday (November 5) before the polls closed.
Many states have already closed polling and the counting is underway. Exit polls show that the Americans are worried about issues around democracy and the economy.
The results from various states will now start tricking in anytime.
A town New Hampshire kept its tradition and became the first one to cast ballot, just after the midnight (local US time). The town of six was split evenly between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. They both got three votes each. While general election results in different US states start pouring in, all eyes are set on the seven key states, which will decide the next US President.
Track Kamala Harris US Election Results 2024 LIVE here
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But one of the major questions that persists is about the timing of the US Presidential Election Results. Election Day in the US is now often called an ‘election week’, taking into account the fact that each state follows its own rules and practices for counting ballots. Some may even face legal challenges that could delay the results.
In general, the counting of votes begins as soon as the voting ends in a US state. The winner of the popular vote is declared when the counting ends. There may be times when the ‘projected’ winner is declared in one state while the voting continues in another.
Many expect to know who the next US president is by late election night or at least early morning the next day.
Most states have a predictable voting pattern, and in these states, the results are announced first after the voting. But a handful of key (swing) states may take time to call the races. This may delay the final and overall US presidential results.
However, the winner declared after the election day counting is actually a ‘projected’ winner. The official president-elect is not declared until electoral votes are taken into account. (Read full report here to understand the concept better.)
The first polls across the US will close at 18:00 EST on Tuesday evening (or 4:30 am IST on Wednesday). The last polls will close at 01:00 EST (06:00 GMT or 11:30 am IST) on Wednesday, BBC reported.
A look at the tentative timeline for different swing states:
19:00 EST (5:30 am IST Wednesday): Polls are likely to close in Georgia and five other states, and partially in two more states, BBC reported. According to the report, this is when US TV networks may begin declaring the winner in less competitive states like Kentucky.
19:30 EST (6:00 am IST Wednesday): Polls are likely to close across three states, including North Carolina.
20:00 EST (6:30 am IST Wednesday): Polls may close in what is being called the most important state in this US election: Pennsylvania. It may also end in 15 other states and the District of Columbia, as well as partially in Michigan and four other states.
21:00 EST (7:30 am IST Wednesday): All remaining polls may close in Michigan. Voting will also end in Arizona, Wisconsin and 12 other states.
22:00 EST (8:00 am IST Wednesday): Polls close across Nevada and two other states, and partially in two others.
If the counting goes on beyond Wednesday morning, it will be because the vote in the swing states is too close to call the race.
Nobody knows how long it will take for the final winner to be announced this time. A winner could be declared on election night, the next morning, possibly in days or weeks. Here's why.
The race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former US President Donald Trump remains too close in seven swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
So, the very narrow margins of victory in some of these battleground states may require votes to be recounted. Ultimately, these swing states are expected to decide the winner of the US Presidential Elections.
1. Georgia counts fast but check out the vote margin
2. North Carolina counts fast
3. Pennsylvania is likely to take longer than election night
4. Michigan could be faster than in the past
5. Wisconsin is likely to finish most counting by Wednesday
6. Arizona could take days
In the 2020 US Presidential Election, the voting had taken place on November 3. However, US TV networks did not declare Joe Biden the winner until late morning on November 7. Even then, the Associated Press called North Carolina for Trump 10 days after Election Day and Georgia for Biden 16 days after hand recounts.
Four years earlier, the 2016 presidential election–when Trump won for the first time–was decided just hours after most polls closed. The Associated Press had declared Trump the winner later on election night. Meanwhile, BBC reported that Trump was declared the winner shortly before 03:00 EST (08:00 GMT) the day after the election.
In 2012, Barack Obama's victory was projected before midnight on polling day itself.
When a US presidential election winner is declared on the election night itself or in the following days, it's not the end. They aren't the officially elected president until the electoral votes are formally cast and counted.
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A candidate needs a minimum of 270 electoral college votes to become president-elect. This is called the electoral vote. And the voting on election day–when citizens cast their vote–is called a popular vote.
There have been times when a presidential candidate lost the popular vote (election day counting) but still became the president because they won the electoral votes. This happened in 2016, 2000, and three times in the 1800s.
Each candidate running for President in a US state has their own group of electors (known as a slate). Each state gets as many electors as it has members of Congress (House and Senate).
When a citizen casts vote on an election day, they are actually voting for their candidate's preferred electors. This is called the popular vote. The states use these general election results (also known as the popular vote) to appoint their electors.
The actual Electoral College vote takes place in mid-December when the electors meet in their states. The votes of the electors are counted and certified by Congress on January 6. The new president will take office after being inaugurated on January 20.
