The 2024 election outcome may not be known on Election Day.
Experts are warning that with the potential for razor-thin margins in battleground states, the 2024 election could take days before we know who won. In 2020, President Joe Biden was not declared the winner until Saturday after voting occurred Tuesday.
In Arizona, the state's counting process will be the same as 2020, where the process of verifying signatures on ballots dropped off on Election Day causes delays in finalizing the results, Axios reports.
Maricopa County, home to 60% of Arizonans, hired more workers to verify signatures, but it took more than a week to determine who won the governor's race in 2022, Axios reported. The state plans to hire even more workers in 2024, but leads could change in close races as the voting evolves.
In 2020, Biden became the first Democrat to win Arizona at the presidential level since 1996.
In Pennsylvania, mail-in ballots are not allowed to be opened until 7 a.m. on Election Day, which means it could take days before it is determined who won the Keystone State. Biden won Pennsylvania in 2020, after the state went for Trump in 2016, though it took days to finalize the winner.
Wisconsin also does not process absentee ballots before Election Day.
States like Nevada, Michigan and Georgia have moved up their vote-counting timelines, though Axios reported there are concerns about last-minute rules being proposed by the Georgia Election Board. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, told Axios he's concerned their proposals will delay results and weaken the chain of ballot custody.
"Quick results give voters confidence," Raffensperger said to Axios. "Confidence builds trust, and trust is society's gold standard, particularly when our society is so polarized."
In Michigan, absentee ballots will be counted up to eight days before the election, with 90% of absentee ballots expected to be counted before Election Day.
"I don't envision a world where we don't know who won Michigan by midnight," Michael Siegrist, Canton Township's clerk told Axios.
In Nevada, clerks will begin counting early vote ballots when polls open, rather than when polls close on Election Day. Mail-in ballots will be counted beginning Oct. 21. Ballots postmarked before Election Day that arrive up to four days after can be counted.
Republicans have filed more than 100 lawsuits against 2024 election procedures, the Associated Press reported, while Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has an election legal team 10 times larger than Biden's was in 2020, the New York Times reported.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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