Washington (TDI): American voters will cast votes today to opt for the next president but the controversy as when the final results be announced is still looming over the country witnessed a competitive campaign for the top slot.
Instances declaring US election results within hours do exist, but this time tight contest could mean a longer wait, according to BBC.
Majority of the states could witness delay in conclusion as who is the victor.
Democrat Kamala Harris, the current vice-president, and Republican Donald Trump, the former president, have been running neck-and-neck for weeks. Narrow victories could lead to recounts as well.
BBC analyzed that important from elections point of view, state of Pennsylvania, for example, a state-wide recount would be required if there’s a half-percentage-point difference between the votes cast for the winner and loser.
In 2020, the margin was just over 1.1 percentage points.
Legal challenges are also likely as over 100 pre-election lawsuits have already been registered, including challenges to voter eligibility and voter roll management, by Republicans.
This time many things seems different and polarization is affecting scenarios, any election-related disorder, particularly at polling locations could possibly cause delay in results.
On the other hand, vote-counting has sped up in some areas, including the crucial state of Michigan, and far fewer votes will be cast by mail than in the last election, which was during the Covide pandemic.
Read More:US Midterm Elections 2022
Election results in past
Result for the 2020 election held on Tuesday 3 November were declare by media on Saturday 7 November and Joe Biden was winner.
In 2016, when Trump won the presidency, he was declared the winner shortly before 03:00 EST (08:00 GMT) the day after the election.
Also Read: Voters Gear Up for US Elections
In 2012, Barack Obama’s victory was declared before midnight on polling day.
One shouldn’t forget the 2000 election between George W Bush and Al Gore.
The vote was held on 7 November, but the two campaigns went to war over a tight contest in Florida and the race was not decided until 12 December.
