Due to the unusual circumstances 2020 has brought, there is a good chance that we will not know the official election winners until days or maybe weeks after November 3rd, according to political experts.
What We Know:
- The increase in mail-in votes and provisional ballots resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, along with states’ individual vote counting processes, is very likely to delay confirmed election results. This is almost certain to cause concern, confusion, and outrage among American voters, as misinformation about voter fraud and growing doubt in America’s democracy circulate the media.
- According to The New York Times, only eight states expect to have most unofficial votes counted by noon on the day after the election. On top of that, there are also 22 states that allow mailed-in votes to be counted several days after the election.
- Provisional ballots, given to voters with ambiguous eligibility or who may be lacking credentials, are expected to increase in states where mail-in votes are conditional and strictly monitored. If voters were to request a mail-in ballot but decide to vote at the polls, they could receive a provisional ballot that would be counted at a later time.
- Votes cast by mail take a longer time to count because of the steps needed to verify the validity of the ballots. Additionally, some states have different days in which they can legally begin counting mailed in votes; some not allowing the process to commence until election day. With the notably large amounts of votes cast by mail this year due to voters’ precautionary measures against Covid, there’s an unlikely chance that all votes will be officially counted by election night, and perhaps even the night following.
- The fact that election results are very unlikely to be available on election night opens up the opportunity for conspiracies and misinformation to spread. As votes are being counted, results will probably be skewed and misrepresentative of who is actually winning. Adding to that, claims by President Trump doubting the legitimacy of the voting by mail process, and accusations of voter fraud allow for dangerous assumptions that could actually harm our nation’s democracy.
It is important to understand that the fact that counting all the votes will take so much time is a good thing, and demonstrates that the voting process in the U.S. is working accordingly with our democratic process. It is imperative that the notion of not knowing who will win on election night is normalized.
