Why it may take time to declare the new president

On Nov. 5, voters across the United States will head to the polls to cast their ballots in the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. But as was the case in 2020, they might not know the results for several days. Yahoo News explains the factors that could lead to delayed results on Election Night.

Video Transcript

The 2024 election is finally almost over.

But it may be a while before we know who the 47th president of the United States will actually be.

Here's why a lot of people are expected to vote in this election, both in person and by mail and lots of votes means lots of counting early in person.

Voting has already begun in some states like Georgia which keeps breaking its own turnout records.

And between now and November 5th, all but three states will have opened their polls to any voter who wants to submit their back it early.

A majority of states also allow any registered voter to vote by mail, which has become an increasingly popular option over the last few elections.

Now, you might think that early voting means we get a head start on counting.

But in some states including Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin where Harris and Trump are polling within the margin of error.

Election workers aren't allowed to start tallying mail in ballots until election day.

But even in states that allow early votes to be counted early, there's a good chance you will be totally done by the time in person voting begins.

New laws in some states require extra verification and opportunities for voters to correct or cure mistakes on ballots, which can also add a lot of time to the processing.

Then of course, they'll have to get through all the votes from people who show up on election day.

All of this takes time, which is ok because it means that every vote is being counted and that's what democracy is all about.