On November 5, Election Day in the United States, voters across the nation are eagerly anticipating the announcement of the next president. However, the results in states like Pennsylvania are expected to be delayed due to various non-traditional voting methods and unpredictable factors such as the impact of hurricanes on the Southeast region.
The election results in six states are expected to trickle in slowly, testing the patience and confidence of voters. Currently, former President Trump and Vice President Harris are neck and neck in Pennsylvania, with early in-person voting being a key factor influencing the timing of election results.
Although early in-person voting is a new option for residents, election lawyer and co-founder of the Center for Election and Innovation Research, David Becker, explains that these ballots are essentially considered absentee ballots, requiring time to be counted along with mail-in ballots.
Pennsylvania only recently introduced early absentee and no-excuse mail voting since 2020, making it a relatively new process for them. Becker predicts that election workers will be working around the clock to ensure transparency in the reporting process.
Due to the close margins in the previous election and Trump’s upcoming campaign event in Biden’s hometown of Scranton this week, additional scrutiny may be necessary. If the vote count is very close and there are many mail-in ballots, it may take some time to finalize the results.
In Wisconsin, voters are allowed to vote by mail from October 22 to November 3. Despite meeting the demand for a more flexible option beyond the traditional early mail-in system, experts warn of potential drawbacks. Election officials are expected to receive many ballots before Election Day, but they are only allowed to start tallying and processing them after November 5.
The Brennan Center for Justice’s election and government program legal adviser, Derek Tisler, reassures voters and candidates that delays do not signify any issues with the counting process. Accuracy and security are the ultimate goals that election officials in these states prioritize.
In Grand Canyon State, Arizona, hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots are expected on November 5. Both parties’ Policy Center’s election project director, Rachel Orey, notes the state’s generous provisions to allow officials to begin processing ballots early. However, this pre-processing may not significantly reduce the expected surge of votes on Election Day.
According to political science professor Lonna Atkeson at Florida State University, Arizona may be the “state we are ultimately waiting for.” North Carolina, which faced the impact of Hurricane Helene in the later stages of the election cycle, is confident in its measures to ensure voting proceeds smoothly despite potential complications with mail-in voting.
While the volume of mail-in ballots this year is expected to decrease compared to the pandemic period, the situation remains unpredictable with early voting commencement. Paul Gronke, director of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College, emphasizes that election officials will complete verification, processing, and counting tasks but may lack the resources to finalize results by 8 pm on Election Night.
Becker adds that North Carolina is a big question mark, as county election officials in the western part of the state face legal challenges. Patience is key, regardless of how long the process takes. In the battleground state of Nevada, the margin in the previous election was not particularly close, but reliance on mail-in voting may extend the counting timeframe significantly.
Nevada may conclude its voting by Wednesday. Moreover, Nevada and neighboring Arizona are positioned in the western part of other heavily scrutinized states, scheduling their ballot counting after Eastern Coast states like Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Contrastingly, strategists are optimistic that Georgia may be among the first in the battleground states to announce election results. Becker highlights Georgia’s well-crafted policies, including plenty of early and in-person voting, predicting about a 10% mail-in ballot ratio with advanced processing.
“I believe we will receive accurate reports from Georgia around midnight on Election Night,” Becker remarks, unless the margin is extremely narrow. Georgia’s efficient practices may pave the way for timely results in a pivotal state where patience is crucial amidst the uncertainties of the election process.