Unofficial results may be called on Election Night, but the varied audit procedures mean counts will take days, or even weeks, to be certified as official.
The 2024 presidential election on Nov. 5 likely hinges on the outcome in seven battleground states.
Battlegrounds—also called swing or purple states—are where support for Democratic and Republican candidates has been split in recent presidential elections. Current swing states are Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia.
Most other states consistently break for the same political party and aren’t considered competitive.
The battleground states account for 93 of the nation’s 538 electoral votes. The winner needs at least 270 electoral votes—more than half—to win.
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris appear nearly tied in those seven states, according to current polling averages. And all of those states currently are considered tossups that could go either way, according to Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan elections rating group.
How long it will take for Americans to know the results in the seven swing states depends on the individual states’ laws.
State Election Laws Differ
Under the U.S. Constitution, elections are conducted by each state.
Unofficial results often are reported soon after polls close, sometimes within hours. News organizations often announce presumed winners of national races within hours or by the early morning of the next day.
But the official result takes longer for several reasons.
State laws vary regarding when to count ballots that are mailed in, dropped off, or cast during in-person early voting.
Though they go by different names, all seven battleground states allow some kind of absentee or mail-in voting. And all offer early in-person voting, which is now underway throughout most states.
Some state laws allow for early ballots to be tallied before Election Day. Others prohibit counting before polls close.
Mailed ballots received after Election Day still will be counted in some states, as long as they were postmarked by Nov. 5. The deadline for receiving them varies by state.
Verifying Voters
Counting ballots not cast in person can take more time.
Some states—Arizona, Nevada, and Michigan—require a voter’s signature on a mail-in ballot to be verified.
By Lawrence Wilson, Allan Stein, John Haughey, Nathan Worcester, Jackson Richman, Arjun Singh, Jeff Louderback, Joseph Lord, Stacy Robinson
