How long did it take in previous elections?

Millions of Americans woke up this morning to the news of Donald Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, a result that came quicker than many originally expected.

As Election Day 2024 approached, many expected delays in the final results due to the close race, extended voting hours and state laws that require some to wait to count mail-in ballots. However, the Associated Press was able to call the presidency at 5:35 a.m. Wednesday morning after Trump officially secured the vital swing state of Wisconsin.

The call came much faster than news of Joe Biden's victory in 2020, which took four days to be announced due to the flood of mail-in and mail-in ballots that led to longer counting times. As election workers continue to count ballots to formally certify each state in the coming days, The Associated Press says they will call a race when “the trailing candidates no longer have a path to victory,” citing researchers and other analyses.

Here's a look at how ballots are processed and how long it took to determine the winner in the last six presidential elections.

Why aren't the results always announced on election day?

Election laws vary by state depending on how close the race is, and external factors like the pandemic in 2020 or the devastating hurricanes hitting Southern states this storm season can all have an impact on when the election results are known be given.

For example, some states, including key swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, are not allowed to begin processing absentee and absentee ballots until Election Day, slowing the process.

Some states that can begin processing or verifying voter signatures and physically preparing ballots for counting earlier will still have to wait until Election Day to begin counting or actually counting votes and feeding them into counting machines to begin.

According to ballotpedia.org, 43 states currently allow processing to begin before Election Day, while seven states require processing to begin on Election Day. Regarding counting, 12 states allow counting to begin before Election Day, 23 allow counting to begin before polls close on Election Day, and 14 require polls to close before counting can begin.

Foreign and military ballots and provisional votes can also arrive and be counted after Election Day. And long lines at polling stations can cause delays late in the evening as those in line when polls officially close are still eligible to vote.

States and news outlets begin unofficial calls throughout Election Day and beyond when the majority of votes have been counted and a clear winner emerges. However, official results will not be confirmed until weeks later. If an election is close and no clear leading candidate emerges, this can also lead to a delay in unofficial results.

When we saw the results of past elections

Since the 2000 election, considered the longest election in modern U.S. history, results have been announced on different dates. The second longest delay in recent memory occurred in 2020, due to logistics related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 results took four days

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 results were announced later than usual, meaning it took four days for all votes to be counted.

Logistically, the 2020 election was complicated by several confounding factors, including an unusually high percentage (46%) of voters using absentee or absentee ballots. According to the Pew Research Center, there were millions of dollars in backlogs in those votes and the counting required additional time.

Trump and his supporters used these extra counting days as an opportunity to sow disinformation and spread voter fraud conspiracies, leading some to falsely equate the slower count with widespread fraud despite a lack of evidence.

Joe Biden's victory was finally announced on November 7th, four days after Election Day on November 3rd.

The year 2016 was called in the early hours of the morning

Although Hillary Clinton's defeat was a major surprise after she overtook Trump in the popular vote by 2.9 million, the 2016 election was called relatively early in Trump's favor.

Election Day 2016 fell on November 8th. The Associated Press made it official at around 2:30 a.m. ET on November 9, 2016.

The 2012 results were announced before midnight on election day

In 2012, former President Barack Obama was expected to win a second term against the current senator. Mitt Romney before midnight on Election Day, November 6th.

Romney, so confident that he had not written a concession speech in advance, formally conceded around 1 a.m. on November 7th.

In 2008, too, the toll was called at midnight

Obama also secured a quick victory against Senator John McCain on November 4, 2008, with the media calling the race around 11 p.m. EST after the polls closed.

The year 2004 came to Ohio

Then-Senator. John Kerry conceded to then-President George W. Bush in a phone call shortly after 11 a.m. the morning after the election, which took place on November 2, 2004.

Previously, Kerry had held out some hope in the tight race until the key battleground state of Ohio announced that about 135,000 provisional ballots remained. Kerry acknowledged that it was statistically impossible for those remaining ballots to change the outcome.

The year 2000 was the longest delay in modern US history

To this day, some people still argue that the 2000 presidential election should not have gone in George W. Bush's favor. The 2000 race between Republican Bush and Democrat Al Gore, the longest election in modern American history, lasted 35 days and required an official decision by the Supreme Court.

Logistical problems that laid the foundation for the unprecedented delay began on Election Day, November 7th. Incorrect ballot design, allegations of misconduct, calls for recounts and multiple court rulings dragged the process out for more than a month.

The Florida Supreme Court granted the Gore campaign's request for a manual recount in the state, but the decision was appealed by the Bush campaign. There were only 537 votes in the election.

In a controversial 4-5 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the manual recount because it violated the Equal Protection Clause. It also concluded that the Gore campaign had run out of time to propose new recount plans because of the safe harbor provision in U.S. law and ended the election on December 12, five weeks after Election Day 2000.

More than 20 years later, some still argue that media and campaigns that tipped the election in Bush's favor too early had an impact on the outcome.

Contributors: Joshua Bote, Sam Woodward, USA TODAY

When we saw the results of past elections

The 2020 results took four days

The year 2016 was called in the early hours of the morning

The 2012 results were announced before midnight on election day

In 2008, too, the toll was called at midnight

The year 2004 came to Ohio

The year 2000 was the longest delay in modern US history

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