The swing states that took the longest in 2020 and could again be slow this year: Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada. If the race is close, other states could join the list.
By Patrick Marley and Amy Gardner / Washington Post / Nov. 4, 2024
Finding out who won the presidency may take days.
Election officials in key swing states are urging Americans to be patient as they tally results, a process that varies from state to state because each has different vote-counting laws. Polls show an extremely tight presidential race, and the closer the results are, the longer it will take to know the outcome.
In the hours and days after polls close, states begin to publish unofficial results that news outlets use to project winners. The states themselves don’t declare winners until weeks later, once the vote tallies have been canvassed and certified.
In 2020, the Associated Press and other news outlets determined Joe Biden had won the presidency four days after the election. The swing states that took the longest then could again be slow this year: Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada. If the race is close, other states could join the list.
In addition to legal restrictions on when officials can count mail ballots, long lines at polling places at the end of the day can also slow counting, as voters who are in line at closing time are still allowed to vote.
And then there are ballots from overseas voters and those in the military, which sometimes arrive after Election Day, along with provisional ballots cast by voters whose eligibility is in question. In very close elections, the outcome is unclear until these last ballots are counted.
