Come Tuesday, all eyes will be on the United States as millions of Americans will head to the voting stations to choose their new President. Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris are on their final leg of the campaign, visiting battleground states on the Election eve.
Most states will begin voting at 7 am in their local time, with others starting as early as 5 am or as late as 10 am.
While some US election results came within a day of the voting, some took almost a week.
As per analysts, this year's tight contest would mean the wait is longer. The winner can be announced only after the majority of ballots are counted. The initial results could show one candidate ahead, only for the other candidate to win after more votes are tallied.
Latest poll figures indicate that Kamala Harris is slightly ahead nationally but Donald Trump has an edge in key swing states. As for Pennsylvania, the two candidates are deadlocked. It is important that the results in key battleground states, mainly Pennsylvania, are not tied for election results to come the next day. Only a wide gap between the first and second could enable the projection of a winner. So, it is unlikely that the results will come on Wednesday.
It took many poll predictors almost four days to declare Joe Biden a winner in the 2020 elections since Pennsylvania was a pivotal Electoral College state. This year too, the state may be crucial, but the silver lining is that 98% to 99% of the vote in Pennsylvania will likely be counted by Wednesday morning.
Early indicators
An early indicator of which candidate is performing better will come between 7 pm and 8 pm Eastern Time ( IST 5 am-6 am), when polls close in the key battleground states of Georgia and North Carolina.
Another major key moment could happen between 8 pm and 9 pm Eastern time (6 am to 7 am IST), when voting ends across the so-called blue wall states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Other swing states of Arizona and Nevada will likely declare results by 10 pm Eastern Time (IST 8 am)
But, it is unlikely that a winner will be declared in any of these states straightaway.
Speedy counting
In many states, in-person votes are counted on election night, while mail-in ballots take longer to count. In many key states like Michigan, the vote counting will be sooner than in 2020 since fewer votes are cast by mail this time.
While the number of mail-ins in Pennsylvania has remained unchanged since 2020, the counting is more efficient this year, thanks to new voting machines and more personnel to help process ballots. A Wednesday projection is likely if 99% of the total vote is counted quickly.
Wisconsin will also likely finish counting 99 per cent of votes by Wednesday morning.
Other challenges
Another hurdle is narrow victories, which could also mean recounts. In a state like Pennsylvania, a 0.5 per cent difference between the first and second places would surely mean a recount. In 2020, the margin was just 1.1 per cent.
Then, the legal challenges. While any disorders at voting stations could disrupt the declaration of results, the lawsuits can also delay the announcement of winners. The Republicans have already filed over 100 pre-election lawsuits, including challenges to voter eligibility and voter roll management, according to BBC.
Previous elections
The wait as shorted in 2016 and 2012. In 2016, when Trumo won the results were announced the day after the elections. The same was the case in 2012, when Barack Obama secured a second term. His victory was projected before midnight on polling day itself.
However, in the 2000 election between George W Bush and Al Gore, the results came was five days. The vote was held on November 7 and the results came on December 12. The US Supreme Court voted to end the state's recount process, which kept Bush in place as winner and handed him the White House.