When will the results of the US presidential election be known?

Americans elect a new president on November 5th. Once the polls close on Election Day, the wait for election results could be as short as a few hours, or it could take days or even weeks.

The Democratic candidate and current US Vice President Kamala Harris and the Republican candidate, former US President Donald Trump, were, as they say, neck and neck in the last weeks before the vote.

As we got closer to the election date, polls in so-called swing states showed that the gap in voter support between Trump and Harris was becoming increasingly narrow.

Therefore, there is a high probability that the advantage of one candidate over another in some states will be so small that a recount will be required.

It's also possible that some states – including several swing states – will have their results later this year due to some voting changes in place since 2020.

At the same time, in some states – such as Michigan – vote counting is likely to proceed faster this year than four years ago. Remote voting (by mail) this year is expected to be less extensive than in past presidential elections, which took place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This means that there are several possible scenarios: the winner will be announced on the night after voting day or on the morning of November 6, or a few days or even weeks later.

The 2020 elections were held on November 3, but American television companies announced the name of the winner only on the morning of November 7.

Back then, most states reported voting results within 24 hours of polls closing. However, several key states – including Pennsylvania and Nevada – announced their results later.

Pennsylvania, which has 19 electoral votes, showed strong Democratic support in polls before that election. But only on the morning of November 7, after the next portion of votes were counted in the state, it became clear that Biden would win in Pennsylvania.

CNN was the first to announce the election results, and 15 minutes later the name of the winner was announced by other TV channels.

In general, voters are accustomed to knowing the name of the next president by the night of Election Day or, at most, the morning of the next day.

In 2016, American voters learned that Donald Trump had been elected president for the next four years by 3 a.m. Eastern Time (New York). Barack Obama's victory in the 2012 elections became known late in the evening on election day.

However, in 2000, when Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore competed for the presidency, the name of the winner (George Bush) became known only on December 12 – that is, almost a month and one week after the vote.

Then the difference between the number of votes cast for the candidates was extremely insignificant. In fact, the fate of the election was decided by the results of the vote in Florida. The recount continued until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on December 12 to end the recounts and declare the final tally final.

The first polls will close at 18:00 ET (22:00 GMT) on Tuesday, and the last ones at 01:00 New York time (5:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

However, the election results are expected to depend on the results in seven swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The last polling stations to close (in swing states) will be in Nevada – at 22:00 New York time (2:00 GMT).

First, as a rule, votes from polling stations in the United States are counted. Then comes the counting of votes from voters who, for various reasons, participated in early voting.

After that, ballots that arrived from polling stations abroad and from US military bases are scanned.

The counting of votes includes checking that the number of ballots cast matches the number of voters who voted, and the condition of the ballots is also checked for stains and other damage. If any discrepancies are identified, an inspection is carried out.

The counting of votes is carried out as follows: ballots are passed through special scanners, which count the number of votes. In some cases it may be necessary to count votes manually.

Each state has its own rules that determine who can participate in the counting of votes, as well as the counting process and at what stages and how voters, including observers, can monitor the process.

A very small difference between the results of the two candidates could lead to a prolonged wait for the outcome of the election.

In Pennsylvania, for example, a statewide recount begins automatically if the difference between the two candidates' results is 0.5% of the vote. In 2020, the difference between Trump and Biden's results in this state was only 1.1%.

Other factors that could lead to longer waits include any irregularities in the operation of polling stations, as well as any obstacles, including technical ones, that may arise during the counting of votes. For example, in Georgia in 2020, a water pipe burst in a ballot room at one of the polling stations, delaying the state's counting time by several hours.

Once all ballots have been counted and all possible recounts have been completed, the election results will be certified—first at the state level, then at the national level.

When one candidate wins a particular state, state officials certify that candidate's electoral votes and send them to Congress.

On the 41st day after the national vote, December 17, the electoral vote will take place. To win the presidential election, you need to get half the votes of the college plus one vote – that is, 270 votes.

This electoral system is the reason why in some cases the candidate who loses the national popular vote becomes president.

On January 6, the new US Congress meets in a joint session to count the electoral votes, chaired by the current vice president.

It was on the day of the counting of electoral votes after the 2020 election that supporters of Donald Trump, who lost the national election, attempted to seize the Capitol. They demanded to cancel the result of the presidential elections.

Donald Trump himself called on Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to approve the results – but he did not do so.

This time, Trump did not give a clear answer to the question of whether he would admit defeat if he lost the election.

The inauguration of the new president will take place on January 20, 2025 on the Capitol grounds.

The candidate who wins the 2024 election will become the 47th President of the United States.