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It has been quite a night.
And it’s not over yet: In several states, the vote count could still last a few more days.
If you were tuned in to the 2016 US election and you can remember waking up around this time and seeing the outcome clearly, you may be wondering why this election is taking so long to come.
So far, all states that have called for a result have turned the same color, blue for Democrats, red for Republicans, as they did in 2016.
But several of the remaining states have been viewed as potential swing states that have the potential to shift the balance between candidates, and it is now the states that will determine the outcome of the election, as both candidates seek to reach 270 electoral votes.
This year has seen significant absentee voting rates in every state, with many voters, around 100 million, casting their ballots before yesterday’s vote.
In three of the remaining key states, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, election rules meant that officials couldn’t process absentee ballots until or just before Election Day.
Electoral votes are awarded to the winning candidate in each state, and at the start of the election, there were 538 at stake.
The difference between the electoral votes assigned to each state is large, from 55 in California to just 3 in states like Hawaii and Delaware.
Now, with Biden at 227 and Trump at 213, there are still fewer than 100 electoral votes to be assigned, but all votes may not be counted for a while.
In 2016, Trump delivered his victory speech at 2.50 a.m. after Election Day. He won Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes at 2.30am, giving him a final push over the 270 mark. Clinton conceded around 2.35am.
In 2012, Republican candidate Mitt Romney delivered his concession speech around 1 a.m., with Obama’s reelection cemented with 332 electoral votes.
Here’s a rundown of the key states that still need to announce their 2020 election result and why there is a longer wait than we’ve seen before.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is likely the last state to finish counting its votes.
Of the states left to call for an outcome, Pennsylvania has the highest number of electoral votes waiting for the winner: 20.
Currently, in Pennsylvania, Trump has 55.7% and Biden 43% with a difference of about 7 million votes between them.
However, only about 74% of the votes have been reported so far, and there are a significant number of mail-in ballots that have yet to be counted, which Democrats hope will push them to the limit.
So far, only 19 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties (28%) have reported absentee votes.
Of the absentee votes reported, 78.4% of them have gone to Biden and 20.7% to Trump.
Officials have said the mail-in ballot count could last until Friday.
State ballots can be legally accepted and counted by mail as long as they are mailed in time for the election, but Republicans have sued the ballot handling process in some areas of Pennsylvania.
Last night, Trump said he would go to the United States Supreme Court because “we want the voting to stop.”
“So we will go to the Supreme Court of the United States. We want the voting to stop. We don’t want them to find out, ”he said.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has promised that all votes cast in the state will be counted.
“Let’s be clear: this is a partisan attack on the Pennsylvania election, our votes and democracy,” said Wolf, who appeared to respond to Donald Trump’s push to call the election quickly.
“Our counties are working tirelessly to process votes as quickly and accurately as possible,” Wolf said.
“Pennsylvania will have a fair election and we will count every vote.”
- How many electoral voters? twenty
- Who took it in 2016? Trump 48.2%, Clinton 47.5%
Michigan
With 76% of the votes reported, Trump currently holds the Michigan lead over Biden at 51.9% to 46.3%.
As for absentee votes, so far only 12 of Michigan’s 83 counties (14%). have reported their absentee votes. Of the absentee votes counted so far, 66% have gone to Biden and 32.6% have gone to Trump.
The final result is expected to take until Wednesday night to be announced.
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Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has made similar promises to Wolf of Pennsylvania: that all counts will be counted.
At a press conference last night, Benson said that “every voter would be guaranteed to get their vote and be counted.”
“I just got back from the Detroit absentee counting board where thousands of highly trained poll workers are working right now and worked today and even yesterday and will continue to work through the night to efficiently tabulate nearly 180,000 ballots. of absentee voters who voted in the city of Detroit, and that number may continue to rise as we see ballots returned from satellite offices and mailboxes that were used throughout the day, ”said Benson.
He said the efficiency of the count had put the state on track to “see our results much earlier than we had anticipated.”
- How many electoral voters? sixteen
- Who took it in 2016? Trump, by the width of a hair. Trump 47.3%, Clinton 47.0%
Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, less than half a percent is between Biden and Trump in the current tally: 49.3% for Biden and 49.0% for Trump, with 89% of the votes reported.
In Wisconsin, as in Pennsylvania and Michigan, election rules meant that officials had to wait until the election before they could begin counting absentee votes that had been cast in advance.
An outcome is expected in Wisconsin earlier than some of the other states yet to be called, in large part because absentee ballots are expected to be counted on Wednesday morning (which is morning time in the US). USA).
- How many electoral voters? 10
- Who took it in 2016? Trump 47.2%, Clinton 46.5%
Alaska
Alaska, which is an hour behind the West Coast at GMT-9, has just started showing some results.
However, updates currently coming from Alaska are based solely on early voting in person votes and Election Day voting.
Mail ballots will not be counted in Alaska for another week.
- How many electoral voters? 3
- Who took it in 2016? Trump 51.3%, Clinton 36.6%
The other states that have yet to be called are Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina.
In Arizona and Georgia, a winner is expected today.
Nevada accepts ballots by mail postmarked through Election Day through November 10, and North Carolina accepts them through November 12 (but the result in both states will likely be called much earlier).
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