Many Americans woke up to the announcement of Donald Trump’s win against Vice President Kamala Harris this morning, a result that arrived sooner than most anticipated.

As November 2024 approached, many predicted that delays in final results would be likely due to the competitive nature of the race, extended polling hours, and state regulations that required waiting to start counting mail-in ballots. Nonetheless, the Associated Press declared Trump the president at 5:35 AM on Wednesday after he clinched the crucial swing state of Wisconsin.

This announcement was made significantly faster than Joe Biden’s 2020 win, which took four days to confirm due to a surge in mail-in and absentee ballots that delayed counting. Although election officials will continue to tally votes in the coming days for official state certifications, the Associated Press explains they make calls when “losing candidates no longer have a viable route to victory,” based on extensive research and data analysis.

Let’s explore how election ballots are processed and the duration it took for the election results to be declared in the last six presidential elections.

Why aren’t results always ready on Election Day?

State election laws differ, which can affect how quickly results are reported, as well as factors such as the pandemic in 2020 or severe hurricanes impacting southern states during this storm season.

In certain states, particularly critical swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, counting of mail-in and absentee ballots can only commence on Election Day itself, leading to delays.

Other states that allow processing, such as verifying voter signatures and preparing the votes for tabulation, still cannot begin actual counting until Election Day itself.

According to ballotpedia.org, 43 states permit some form of processing to start before Election Day, while seven states require processing to begin on Election Day. In terms of counting, 12 states allow it to start before Election Day, 23 allow it before polls close on Election Day, and 14 do not permit counting until after the polls have closed.

Votes from overseas residents and military services may arrive and be counted after Election Day, including provisional ballots. Additionally, long wait times at polling stations can create delays, as individuals in line at closing time still have the right to cast their votes.

States and media organizations will begin to announce unofficial results on Election Day and afterward when most votes have been tallied and a clear winner has emerged. However, the official results are only certified weeks later. If the election is tightly contested with no defined leader, this may further delay unofficial results.

Timeline of past election results

Since the controversial 2000 election, which is recognized as the longest in modern U.S. history, results have been reported on varying timelines. The 2020 election resulted in the second-longest waiting time due to difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results in 2020 were announced after four days

The results for 2020 arrived later than normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic, taking four days to complete the vote count.

The 2020 election presented logistical challenges, including an unusually high rate of absentee and mail-in voting (46%). This led to substantial backlogs, with millions of ballots needing to be counted, according to the Pew Research Center.

During this period, Trump and his supporters capitalized on the additional counting time to spread false information about election integrity, wrongfully associating the slower tallying period with widespread fraud, despite lacking any evidence.

Biden’s victory was ultimately proclaimed on November 7, four days following the November 3 Election Day.

Results in 2016 were declared in the early hours

Even though Hillary Clinton had a strong lead in the popular vote, surpassing Trump by 2.9 million votes, the 2016 election was declared in Trump’s favor rather swiftly.

The election took place on November 8, 2016, and the Associated Press announced Trump’s victory around 2:30 AM ET on November 9.

Results in 2012 were announced before midnight

In 2012, then-President Barack Obama was projected to win re-election over candidate Mitt Romney before midnight on Election Night, November 6.

Romney, who was overly confident, did not prepare a concession speech but officially conceded around 1 AM on November 7.

Results in 2008 were also declared quickly

Obama secured a swift victory on November 4, 2008, defeating Senator John McCain, with Media outlets declared the election results around 11 p.m. EST once the polls were closed.

The 2004 Election: Ohio’s Crucial Role

John Kerry, who was a senator at the time, called then-President George W. Bush to concede shortly after 11 a.m. the day following the election, which took place on November 2, 2004.

Before conceding, Kerry had been hopeful as the race was tight, especially until it was revealed that around 135,000 provisional ballots remained in the critical state of Ohio. He ultimately believed it was unlikely these ballots would alter the final results, prompting him to concede.

2000: The Longest Election Delay in Recent History

Even now, many debate whether the 2000 presidential election should have been called for George W. Bush. This election was the longest in modern U.S. history, lasting 35 days and requiring a Supreme Court ruling to resolve the outcome.

The issues that led to this significant delay began on Election Day, November 7. Problems such as confusing ballot designs, allegations of wrongdoing, requests for recounts, and various court rulings extended the process for more than a month.

Florida’s Supreme Court approved the Gore Campaign’s demand for a manual recount, but this was contested by the Bush campaign. The election ultimately hinged on just 537 votes.

In a contentious 4-5 Supreme Court decision, the manual recount was halted due to violations of the Equal Protection Clause. Additionally, the Court ruled that the Gore campaign had missed the deadline to suggest new recount plans under the “safe harbor” clause in U.S. law, finalizing the election on December 12, more than five weeks after Election Day 2000.

Over two decades later, discussions continue about how media outlets and campaigns prematurely announcing the election results in favor of Bush may have influenced the final outcome.