US Election Results 2024: When Will Official Results Come?

Aakhir Tak – In Shorts:

• US election results 2024: November 5 is Election Day, but final results may take days to emerge.
• The complexity of vote counting and the role of swing states may delay election outcomes.
• Official results will be announced on January 6, 2025, by Congress.

Aakhir Tak – In Depth: US election results 2024: While November 5 may be Election Day, a final picture could take days to emerge due to the neck-and-neck contest between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. There are 51 separate elections in the US, each with its own rules and practices for counting votes. The complexity of the voting process and the decisive role of swing states may lead to delays in the final election results.

Compounding the matter is the fact that, unlike India, the US has no national election commission. Instead, state and local governments are responsible for counting the votes. Thus, citizens of the US and the world keep an eye on American media, which “calls” the elections within hours of the end of voting.

In the vast country of the US, polls close at different times across regions, causing a delay in the results. According to the BBC, the last polls will close at 01:00 EST, which translates to 11:30 AM on Wednesday in Indian time. By Wednesday night, a clearer picture of who is leading in the race may begin to emerge.

However, this is dependent on a host of factors. Most states have predictable voting patterns, and their results are announced first. However, it is the seven swing or battleground states that hold the key. These states, especially Pennsylvania, will play a crucial role in deciding the next President.

Narrow margins of victory in these swing states may require votes to be recounted, further delaying the process. Legal challenges are also a possibility.

At the heart of the convoluted process is the electoral college system of presidential elections in the US. Unlike in India, where citizens directly choose their candidate, Americans vote for electors selected by that candidate’s party. The states are allocated a certain number of electors based on their population size. There are a total of 538 electors, and a candidate needs 270 votes to clinch the White House race.

WHEN WERE THE 2020 AND 2016 ELECTION RESULTS DECLARED? The 2020 US presidential election took place on November 3. However, it took four days (until November 7) for the media to declare that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated Trump, after the result in Pennsylvania became clearer. Initially, Trump had an 11% lead, but Biden snatched the lead over the next two days as mail-in ballots were counted.

The Associated Press has typically been the first media outlet to call elections in the US, with near accuracy since 1848, when it declared Zachary Taylor as the 12th US president.

In the 2016 polls, the Associated Press correctly declared Trump the winner on election night, while the BBC announced the winner the next morning.

WHEN CAN WE EXPECT OFFICIAL RESULTS OF US POLLS? However, media declaring the winner is not the end of the election process. Rather, it is the beginning. After votes are cast, the states certify the results, and this process must be completed by December 11. Six days later, the 538 electors meet in their respective state capitals to formally cast their votes for the President and Vice President.

The certificates of these votes are then submitted to the US Senate chief by the fourth Wednesday of December.

On January 6, 2025, the US Congress convenes to count the electoral votes. It is on this day that US voters officially get to know the number of votes cast for each candidate and the winner of the election. The inauguration ceremony for the President takes place on January 20 in Washington.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

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