Original author: Sam Cabral
Compiled by: Luke, Mars Finance
U.S. voters will head to polling stations on Tuesday (November 5) to choose the next president.
U.S. election results are sometimes announced within hours after the polls close, but this year's fierce competition may lead to longer wait times.
When will the results of the 2024 presidential election be revealed?
On Tuesday at 6:00 PM ET (11:00 PM GMT, 7:00 AM Beijing time on Wednesday), the first batch of polling stations will close, with the last batch closing at 1:00 AM on Wednesday (6:00 AM GMT, 2:00 PM Beijing time).
In past presidential elections, sometimes the winner was known late on Election Day or early the next morning.
However, due to intense competition among states this year, the media may need more time to predict the results.
The two candidates - Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Trump - have had closely matched support for several weeks.
If the margin of ballots in some states is too close, a recount may be triggered.
Taking the key swing state of Pennsylvania as an example, if the margin between candidates is within 0.5 percentage points, a recount is required.
In 2020, the margin in that state was just over 1.1 percentage points.
Legal challenges may also arise. So far, the Republican Party has filed over 100 election-related lawsuits, covering issues such as voter eligibility and voter roll management.
Election-related chaos, especially order issues at polling stations, may also cause delays in results.
On the other hand, the speed of counting in some areas has accelerated, including key state Michigan. Additionally, the number of mail-in votes is expected to significantly decrease compared to the last election, as the previous election saw a surge in mail-in voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When are past presidential election results announced?
In the 2020 presidential election, major U.S. television networks took four days to announce Joe Biden's victory, due to the delayed results in Pennsylvania.
In other recent elections, voters typically experienced shorter wait times.
In 2016, Trump announced his victory just hours after the polls closed at 3:00 AM ET (8:00 AM GMT, 4:00 PM in Hong Kong/Beijing/Taipei).
In 2012, then-President Obama announced his re-election before midnight on Election Day.
However, the 2000 presidential election was an exception. At that time, the competition between George W. Bush and Al Gore lasted five weeks until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to end the recount in Florida, allowing Bush to win and enter the White House.
What are the key swing states in 2024?
The final outcome of this election is expected to depend on the results of seven swing states. Experts believe that both Kamala Harris and Trump have chances of winning in these states:
Georgia - The state closed its polling stations at 7:00 PM ET (midnight GMT, 8:00 AM Beijing time) and is expected to complete about 75% of the counting within the first two hours.
North Carolina - Voting in this state will end 30 minutes after Georgia, with results expected to be announced that evening.
Pennsylvania - Voting will end at 8:00 PM ET (1:00 AM GMT, 9:00 AM Beijing time), and experts expect it will take at least 24 hours to get preliminary results.
Michigan - Voting will end at 9:00 PM ET (2:00 AM GMT, 10:00 AM Beijing time), with results expected by Wednesday evening.
Wisconsin - Smaller counties may have results shortly after the polling station closes at 9:00 PM ET, but experts predict the statewide results will not be determined until at least Wednesday.
Arizona - Preliminary results may appear at 10:00 PM ET (3:00 AM GMT, 11:00 AM Beijing time), but the largest county is expected to complete counting by Wednesday morning. Mail-in ballots submitted that day may take up to 13 days to be fully counted.
Nevada - The counting in this state may also take days. As long as mail-in ballots are sent out by Election Day and arrive by November 9, they will be counted.
How does the counting process proceed?
Generally, on Election Day, on-site votes are counted first, followed by early votes and mail-in ballots, then disputed ballots, and finally overseas and military ballots.
Local election officials - sometimes appointed, sometimes elected - are responsible for verifying, processing, and counting ballots, a process known as canvassing.
The verification process includes comparing the number of ballots to the number of valid voters, checking each ballot for tears, stains, or other damage, and recording and investigating any inconsistencies.
The counting process includes feeding ballots into electronic scanning machines for result tallying. In some cases, manual counting or multiple checks may be required.
Each state and locality has strict regulations determining who can participate in the counting, the order of ballot processing, and which parts can be publicly supervised, including the oversight and intervention rights of party observers.
What happens if the presidential election results are challenged?
Once all valid ballots are included in the final results, the Electoral College system will be activated.
Each state has a different number of electoral votes, and the final president is the candidate who wins the most electoral votes.
Generally, states award all electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote in that state, confirming this during the meeting on December 17.
The new U.S. Congress will convene on January 6, 2025, to tally electoral votes and confirm who has been elected president.
After the 2020 election, Trump refused to concede, calling on supporters to protest the certification of Biden's victory at Capitol Hill.
On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters gathered outside the U.S. Capitol.
At that time, Trump asked then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the results, but Pence refused.
After the unrest was quelled and Congress members reconvened, 147 Republican lawmakers still attempted to overturn Trump's loss.
After election reforms, it has become more difficult for congress members to oppose state certification results, and the vice president has no unilateral authority to reject electoral votes.
Nevertheless, election observers predict that the certification process for the 2024 election may still face delays at the local and state levels.
Trump, his campaign partner JD Vance, and major Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have repeatedly refused to clearly state whether he would accept the election results if he were to lose.
What happens if there is a tie?
If both candidates receive the same number of electoral votes, specifically 269 votes, a tie may occur.
At that time, the U.S. House of Representatives - the lower house of Congress - will hold a contingent election to vote for the president.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate - the upper house of Congress - will vote to elect the vice president.
However, such a situation has not occurred in about 200 years.
When is the presidential inauguration held?
The elected president will officially take office on January 20, 2025 (Monday), at the U.S. Capitol.
This will be the 60th presidential inauguration in U.S. history.
At that time, the new president will take an oath to uphold the Constitution and deliver an inaugural address.