Prepare To Wait Awhile for Final Election Results
As I write, Americans are trudging to the polls to mark ovals on paper, touch screens, use ballot-marking devices, and otherwise record their choices for president, Congress, state legislatures, and a host of other offices and ballot measures. Around 78 million Americans cast votes before Election Day, many by mail. Different systems are used, according to the preference of each state, and rules vary as to when ballots can be counted and how they’re recounted if necessary. If that sounds like it adds a level of complexity to tallying votes, you’re right. That’s why we’ll all probably have to be a little patient before the results of this year’s election are finalized.
A Two Week Delay on Votes From One Key County
“The outcome of the presidential race could hinge on Maricopa County, and election officials are warning it could take nearly two weeks to count all the votes,” Phoenix’s CBS affiliate reported last week. “With more than 2.5 million active voters, Maricopa County is the third-largest voting jurisdiction in the country and one of the most hotly contested areas in the race for the White House. The county expects it will take 10 to 13 days to count all the votes, which is consistent with previous years.”
Arizona is a swing state which went for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 by less than 11,000 votes. So, with 2.5 million of the state’s 4.368 million voters in one county that’s already warned that counting ballots will take awhile, we all could be waiting awhile on some pretty important election results.
Or maybe Americans will have to wait on Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or one of the other swing states. Even if the presidential contest is decided relatively quickly, control of Congress could remain up in the air while we await the outcome of the few House races that are actually in play.
Voting Procedures Vary Across the Country
How votes are cast, processed, and tallied varies from state to state—and even among jurisdictions within some states. According to Verified Voting, which promotes “the responsible use of technology in elections,” 69.9 percent of U.S. voters live in jurisdictions that use hand-marked paper ballots. Another 25.1 percent use ballot-marking devices that electronically present options to voters and then print human-readable paper ballots that are tallied. Five percent make use of direct recording electronic systems that are completely digital, with the results stored in computer memory.
While 78 million ballots were cast before Election Day, that doesn’t mean they’ve already been counted. Some states, Arizona included, tally them as they arrive, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, though the results must be kept secret under penalty of law. Those ballots may be cast at early-voting stations or b
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