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How long it took in previous elections

Vaseline November 6, 2024

Millions of Americans woke up this morning to the news of Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, an outcome that came faster than many originally expected.

As Election Day 2024 approached, many expected delays in final results thanks to the tight race, extended polling hours and state-specific laws dictating that some would have to wait before they could begin counting ballots. However, the Associated Press was able to convene the presidency at 5:35 a.m. Wednesday morning after Trump officially secured the vital swing state of Wisconsin.

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

Here’s how election ballots are processed and how long it took for the winner to be declared in the last six presidential elections.

Why aren’t the results always announced on election day?

Election laws vary by state, how close the race is and outside factors like the 2020 pandemic or the devastating hurricanes hitting Southern states this storm season can all affect when results start rolling in.

Some states, including key swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, are not allowed to start processing absentee and mail-in ballots until Election Day, slowing the process.

Some states that start processing or verifying voter signatures and physically preparing ballots for tabulation earlier still have to wait until Election Day to begin counting, or actually tabulating the votes and entering them into the counting machines.

According to ballotpedia.org, 43 states currently allow processing to begin before Election Day, while seven states require processing to begin on Election Day. As for counting, 12 states allow counting to begin before Election Day, 23 states allow counting to begin before polls close on Election Day, and 14 require polls to close before counting can begin.

Ballots from overseas and military members can also arrive and be counted after Election Day, as can provisional votes. And long lines at polling stations can cause delays late into the day, because those in line when the polls officially close still have the right to vote.

States and news media begin making unofficial calls during Election Day and beyond when the majority of votes have been counted and a clear winner emerges. However, official results are not certified until weeks later. If elections are close and no clear frontrunner emerges, this could also lead to a delay in the unofficial results.

When we saw results in previous elections

Since the 2000 election, considered the longest election in modern American history, results have been polled according to various schedules. The second longest delay in the recent past occurred in 2020, thanks to logistics related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 results took four days

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 results came later than normal, meaning it took four days for all votes to be counted.

Logistically, the 2020 election was complicated by several confounding factors, including an unusually high percentage (46%) of voters using absentee or mail-in ballots. According to the Pew Research Center, the backlog of these votes was in the millions and took extra time to count.

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

Joe Biden’s victory was finally announced on November 7, four days after the November 3 election day.

2016 was called in the early morning hours

Despite Hillary Clinton’s loss being a major shock after she surpassed Trump by 2.9 million votes in the popular vote, the 2016 election was called in Trump’s favor relatively early.

Election Day 2016 was on November 8. 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 was projected to win a second term over the current senator. Mitt Romney before midnight on Election Day, November 6.

Romney, so confident that he had not written a concession speech in advance, officially conceded around 1 a.m. on November 7.

2008 was also called before midnight

Obama also won a quick victory on November 4, 2008 against Senator John McCain, with the media calling the race around 11:00 PM EST after the polls closed.

2004 came down to Ohio

Then-Sen. John Kerry conceded to then-President George W. Bush shortly after 11 a.m. on the morning after the election, which took place on November 2, 2004.

Earlier, Kerry had harbored some hope in the tight race until the key state of Ohio announced that about 135,000 provisional ballots remained. Kerry believed that it was statistically impossible for these remaining votes to change the outcome.

2000 was the longest delay in modern American history

To this day, some people still argue that the 2000 presidential election should not have gone in George W. Bush’s favor. The longest election in modern American history, the 2000 race between Republican Bush and Democrat Al Gore, lasted 35 days and was officially declared a Supreme Court decision.

Logistical issues that paved the way for the unprecedented delay began on Election Day, November 7. Faulty ballot design, allegations of misconduct, demands for recounts and multiple court rulings dragged the process out for more than a month.

The Florida Supreme Court granted the Gore Campaign’s request for a manual recount in the state, but the decision was challenged by the Bush campaign. The election came down to just 537 votes.

In a controversial 4-5 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the manual recount because it violated the Equal Protection Clause. It also decided that the Gore campaign had run out of time to propose new recount plans because of the “safe harbor” clause in the US Code, which ended the election on December 12, five weeks after Election Day 2000.

More than two decades later, some still argue that the media and campaigns calling the election too early in Bush’s favor had an impact on the outcome.

Contributing: Joshua Bote, Sam Woodward, USA TODAY

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How long it took in previous elections

Why aren’t the results always announced on election day?