How long did it take in the last election?

Millions of Americans woke up to news of Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris this morning, and the result came faster than many initially predicted.

As Election Day 2024 approached, many expected delays in final results due to the tight race, extended voting hours and specific state laws dictating that some have to wait to start counting mail-in ballots. However, the Associated Press was able to call the president at 5:35 a.m. Wednesday morning after Trump formally clinched the vital swing state of Wisconsin.

The call came much faster than the news Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, the announcement took four days due to the large number of mail-in and absentee ballots, which resulted in longer counting times. While election officials will still be counting ballots in the coming days to officially certify each state, The Associated Press explains that he calls a race when “the trailing candidates no longer have a path to victory,” relying on researchers and other analysis.

Here’s a look at how ballots are processed and how long it took to call the winner. last six presidential elections.

Why are results not always announced on election day?

Election laws vary by state as well as how close the race is, and external factors such as the pandemic in 2020 or the devastating hurricanes that hit southern states this storm season can all affect when results will appear.

Some states, including key swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, they are not allowed to begin processing absentee and mail-in ballots until Election Day, for example, which slows down the process.

Some states that allow the processing or verification of voter signatures and the physical preparation of ballots for counting to begin earlier still must wait until Election Day to begin counting or actually tabulating the votes and feeding them into the tabulating machines.

According to ballotpedia.org Currently, 43 states allow processing to begin before Election Day, and seven require processing to begin on Election Day. When it comes to vote counting, 12 states allow vote counting to begin before Election Day, 23 before polls close on Election Day, and 14 states require polls to be closed before vote counting begins.

Overseas and military ballots may also arrive and be counted after Election Day, as can advance voting. And long lines at polling places could lead to delays later in the day as those waiting in line when polls officially close are still eligible to vote.

States and the media begin making informal calls throughout Election Day and beyond, once the majority of votes have been counted and a clear winner has been identified. However, the official results will not be confirmed until several weeks later. If the election is close and no clear frontrunner has emerged, this could also delay the release of unofficial results.

When we saw the results in the last elections

Since the 2000 election, considered the longest election in modern U.S. history, results have been announced on varying schedules. The second longest delay in recent history occurred in 2020 due to logistical challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Summing up the results of 2020 took four days

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Results of 2020 It arrived later than usual: it took four days to count all the votes.

Logistically, the 2020 election was complicated by several confounding factors, including an unusually high percentage (46%) of voters who used absentee or mail-in ballots. The reserves for these votes were in the millions, according to Pew Research Centerand additional time was required for counting.

Trump and his supporters saw these extra counting days as an opportunity. sow disinformation and spread conspiracies about election fraud, leading some to mistakenly equate the slower count with widespread fraud, despite a lack of evidence.

Joe Biden’s victory was ultimately declared on November 7, four days after Election Day on November 3.

In 2016 they called early in the morning.

Despite the fact that Hillary Clinton’s defeat was a big disappointment after she beat Trump. by 2.9 million The popular vote declared the 2016 election relatively early in Trump’s favor.

Election Day 2016 was November 8th. The Associated Press made it official around 2:30 a.m. ET on November 9, 2016

The 2012 results were announced before midnight on election day.

In 2012, former President Barack Obama he was expected to win a second term over the current senator. Mitt Romney before midnight on Election Day, November 6.

Romney, who was so confident in himself that didn’t write a concession speech ahead of time, officially conceded around 1 a.m. November 7.

2008 was also called before midnight.

Obama also scored a quick victory on November 4, 2008 over Sen. John McCainwith outlets calling the race around 11:00 pm EST after polls close.

2004 came to Ohio

Then-Sep. John Kerry conceded to then-President George W. Bush by telephone shortly after 11 a.m. following the November 2, 2004 election.

Kerry had previously held out some hope for a tight race until the key state of Ohio announced it had approximately 135,000 provisional ballots remaining. Believing it was statistically impossible for the remaining ballots to change the outcome, Kerry conceded.

The year 2000 was the longest delay in modern US history.

To this day, some people still argue that the 2000 presidential election should not have been called in favor of George W. Bush. Longest election in modern American historythe 2000 race between Republican Bush and Democrat Al Gore took 35 days and a formal Supreme Court decision.

The logistical problems that set the stage for the unprecedented delay began on Election Day, November 7. Poorly designed ballots, allegations of misconduct, demands for a recount and numerous court rulings delayed the process for more than a month.

The Florida Supreme Court granted the Gore campaign’s request for a manual recount of the state’s votes, but the decision was challenged by the Bush campaign. There were only 537 votes in the election.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a controversial 4-5 decision and overturned the manual recount because it violated the Equal Protection Clause. He also decided that the Gore campaign had run out of time to propose any new recount plans because of the “safe harbor” clause in the U.S. Code, which ends the election on Dec. 12, five weeks after Election Day 2000.

More than 20 years later, some still argue that media and campaigns calling the election too early in favor of Bush influenced the outcome.

Assistance: Joshua Bothe, Sam WoodwardUSA TODAY