When will we know who won?

The American people are voting for their next president in a national election that will culminate on Tuesday, November 5.

Once voting is closed, depending on how close the contest is, the winner may not be named for hours, days or even weeks. Here’s what you need to know.

Democrat Kamala Harris, the current vice president, and Donald Trump, the former Republican president, have been running neck and neck for weeks.

Statewide and swing voting have tightened as November 5 approaches, so there may be very narrow margins of victory in several areas, which may require recounts.

It is also possible that some results will be slightly different this year due to changes in the way each state – which includes all seven skating regions that will ultimately decide the race – carry their election from 2020.

On the other hand, vote counting has been accelerated in places like Michigan, and far fewer ballots will be cast this time than in the last election, which was held during the Covid crisis.

This means there are a number of possible outcomes – the winner is announced on election night, the next morning or perhaps days or weeks later.

The 2020 election took place on Tuesday November 3rd, but US TV networks did not announce Joe Biden as the winner until the early hours of Saturday November 7th.

As Americans went to bed on election night, Trump supporters felt confident that victory was close but, in reality, both candidates were out of reach. 270 electoral college votes are needed to become president.

While most states called their races within 24 hours, a handful of key states — including Pennsylvania and Nevada — did not.

Pennsylvania, with its 19 electoral votes, has always leaned toward the Democrats. On Saturday morning, a new batch of votes counted from the military precinct gave networks confidence that Biden would win there.

CNN was the first to announce the result, every other TV network followed within the next 15 minutes.

In general, voters are used to the idea that they will know who the next president will be when they go to bed on election night or early the next morning.

In 2016, for example, when Trump won the presidency for the first time, he was declared the winner just before 03:00 EST (08:00 GMT) the day after the election.

In 2012, when Barack Obama won a second term, his victory was seen before midnight on the voting day itself.

But another notable recent one was the 2000 election between George W Bush and Al Gore.

The two campaigns fought because of a tight race in Florida, and the race was not decided until December 12 when the US Supreme Court voted to end the state recount process, keeping Bush in place as the guaranteed winner and thus giving him the keys to the White House.

Nationwide, early voting will close on 1800 EST (2200 GMT) on Tuesday evening and the final voting will close on 0100 EST (0500 GMT) Wednesday morning.

But this race is expected to come down to its results seven states turn – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

1900 EST (2300 GMT) – Voting is closed in Georgia and five other states, and partially in two other states. This is also when US TV networks may start making their first calls at night, in less competitive states like Kentucky.

1930 EST (2330 GMT) – Voting closes in three states, including North Carolina, where Harris is hoping to end a losing streak for Democratic presidential candidates dating back to 2008.

2000 EST (0000 GMT) – Voting is closed in Pennsylvania, 15 other states and the District of Columbia, as well as Michigan and four other states.

2100 EST (0100 GMT) – All remaining votes are closed in Michigan. Voting will end in Arizona, Wisconsin and 12 other states.

2200 EST (0200 GMT) – Poles close across Nevada and two other states, and partially in two others.

Generally, the votes cast on election day are counted first, followed by early and mail-in ballots, those that have been challenged, and then overseas and military votes.

Local election officials – sometimes appointed, sometimes elected – verify, process and count individual votes, in a process known as canvassing.

Verifying votes includes comparing the number cast with the number of active voters; removing, uncovering and inspecting every single ballot for tears, stains or other damage; and documenting and investigating any conflicts.

Counting votes involves feeding each one to electronic scanners that draw their results. Some cases require manual calculations or double-checked calculations.

All states and territories have strict rules that specify who can participate in canvassing, how votes are counted and which parts are open to the public, including how party observers can monitor and intervene in the counting of votes.

The tight margins will force the media to wait longer before making their estimates, but they also raise the prospect of recounts and legal challenges.

In Pennsylvania, for example, a statewide automatic recount goes into effect if there is a fractional point difference between the votes cast for the winner and the loser. In 2020, the limit was just over 1.1 percent.

More than 100 pre-election lawsuits have already been filed across the country, including challenges to voter eligibility and the administration of voter lists by Republicans. The ongoing court decisions in these cases were shaping this race day by day.

Other conditions that could cause delays include any incidents of election-related disruptions, particularly at polling stations, and obstructions in the counting of votes, such as a water pipe burst at a 2020 Georgia vote processing facility.

Once all valid votes have been included in the final results, and after procedures such as recounts have been completed, the election results are confirmed – first at the local precincts, then at the state level.

The head of state, usually the governor, then certifies what is known as a slate of voters. to represent their country in the electoral college. These electors meet in their states on December 17 to vote and send them to Washington.

On January 6, the new US Congress meets in joint session to count the election votes, with the current vice president.

After the 2020 election, Trump refused to admit defeat and rallied his supporters to march on the US Capitol as Congress met to confirm Biden’s victory.

He urged his deputy, Mike Pence, to reject the results – but Pence refused.

Even after the impasse was cleared and members of Congress were reconvened, 147 Republicans voted without success to reverse Trump’s loss.

Electoral reforms since then have made it harder for lawmakers to dispute certified results sent to them from individual states, and have also clarified that the vice president has no power to reject electoral votes.

However, election watchers expect efforts to delay the 2024 vote’s ratification to take place at the local and state levels.

Trump, his running mate JD Vance and top Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have repeatedly refused to say outright that they will accept the election results if he loses.

The president-elect will be inaugurated on Monday 20 January 2025 on the grounds of the US Capitol complex.

He will be the 60th president in US history.

At this event, the new president will be sworn in with a promise to uphold the Constitution and deliver his first speech.