In a tight presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has warned that results may take several days, as vote tallies will come in at different times across states, and close results could delay a final call.
The campaigns of both Harris and former President Donald Trump are fighting for every vote, especially in the seven key battleground states of Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.
The ruling Democratic Party and the opposition Republicans have deployed hundreds of attorneys and thousands of volunteers to be part of the vote-counting process and be prepared to challenge and start the legal battle if necessary.
“We may not know the results of this election for several days,” Jen O'Malley Dillon, campaign chair, Harris for President, wrote in an email to Democratic Party influentials, indicating they need to be prepared for the long haul.
“But we must stay calm and confident during that period of time. We all have a role to play to ensure that our friends, family, and neighbours trust our electoral process,” Dillon said.
Each state counts votes differently. Some wait until polls close, while others begin counting as soon as ballots are submitted. As a result, election returns will come in at varying times across different states.
Between 7 pm and 10 pm EST Tuesday night (5.30 am and 8.30 am IST), results are expected to start coming from Georgia and North Carolina. Both of these have 16 electoral college votes.
As these races are close, they might not be called by the networks, Dillon said.
Partial results would also start coming in from Pennsylvania (19 electoral college votes), Wisconsin (10) and Arizona (11). By 10 pm, near complete results are expected from Virginia, Florida, Ohio and Colorado.
According to the election night note by Dillon, between 10 pm and midnight EST (8.30 am and 10.30 am IST), most results would come from Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan (15 electoral college votes).
“But if these races are close they may not be called,” she said.
During this time period, partial results are expected from Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona. Initial results would start trickling in from Nevada, which has six electoral college votes.
Between midnight and 6 am Wednesday (10.30 am and 4.30 pm IST), most of the results from Wisconsin and Michigan are expected and partial results from Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada.
Later in the day on Wednesday, additional results from all states, particularly those of Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin, are expected. “If results are very close in any State, the race still may not be called,” Dillon wrote to her group.
Thursday and beyond, “results may continue to trickle in from all States, particularly Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona," Dillon said.
“In Nevada, ballots can continue to arrive through November 9, and voters can cure ballots through November 12,” she said, explaining the reasons that could result in delaying the election results.
Dillon said in Pennsylvania, which is considered to be the election's ground zero, the Democratic Party “expects tens of thousands of provisional ballots that will be counted starting November 8.”
“In North Carolina, there may be challenged ballots that are not counted until November 15,” Dillon said. “It will take a long time to count every single vote, and we can't place too much stock in the early returns. The tally in certain states is going to change a lot as additional ballots are counted," she added.
Giving examples, she said some states that count absentee ballots first may start blue and shift to red as time goes on. "Those would be your Michigans and Pennsylvanias,” she said.
On the election night, Dillon said she expects Vice President Harris to take the initial lead when counties report partial results. This would be followed by a “red shift” from results that would start coming in from the Republican rural areas. “And finally a blue shift” as counties return to counting remaining absentee ballots.
“On the other hand, there are states like North Carolina, Arizona, and Nevada where we may see Republicans leading from the beginning and then those states may shift to blue as urban areas come in and more late early vote and vote-by-mail is counted,” she said.
Dillon warned her key supporters that Trump is probably going to come out early on Election Night and claim victory "despite the facts" -- just like he did in 2020.
“We can count on him spinning a web of misinformation about the way this election was held and challenging the results when he loses again. It will have no impact whatsoever on the outcome of this race,” she asserted.
“This race continues to be extremely close. I know that can cause some anxiety. But let me just say again: We are going to win,” she asserted.
