When will we actually know who won the election?

The polls may open today, but when will we actually know who won the election?

Transcript

00:00The polls may be open today, but when will we actually know who won the election?

00:04Let me explain. In some past presidential elections, the winners have been announced

00:08fairly quickly. For example, Barack Obama's 2012 victory was projected on polling day,

00:13and Donald Trump was declared president at around 3 a.m. Eastern Time the day after the election in

00:172016. But in 2020, with a close race in Pennsylvania and a record number of mail-in ballots because of

00:23the COVID-19 pandemic, the election took four days to call, spurring panic and misinformation.

00:28This year, there are again a number of factors that could delay the election results.

00:32Given how close the 2024 race is, there might be statewide recounts, which are required if

00:36there's a 0.5 percent difference between the votes for each candidate. It's also notable

00:40that over 100 pre-election lawsuits have already been filed by Republicans, meaning it is possible

00:45even further legal challenges will arise, adding delays. Although it is unlikely we will know the

00:49results on election night, this year some states have implemented new rules to speed up the vote

00:54count since 2020. Michigan, a key swing state, implemented early in-person voting and now allows

00:59mail-in ballots to be processed before election day. However, in the important swing states of

01:03Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, state law prevents election officials from processing mail-in

01:07ballots before 7 a.m. on election day. Also, in Arizona, counting could take even longer this

01:12year because officials now must count how many ballots they received on election day before they

01:16start processing them. Arizona officials said full results could take 10 to 13 days. The results from

01:22Nevada are also expected to take a while since ballots can arrive up to four days after the

01:26election and voters can address mistakes with their ballots until November 12th. Despite the

01:31possible delays, will you follow the election results tonight? If so, Brood is covering it

01:35all night long, so stay tuned.