There are several reasons why ballots may take longer to be counted in some states; These include increasing vote-by-mail, which is preferred by nearly a third of voters nationwide in the 2022 midterm elections. According to the MIT Election Lab. Some states allow mail-in ballots to be counted before Election Day, while others do not allow poll workers to begin counting those ballots until in-person voting has concluded.

CBS News admits seven states battleground states In the 2024 presidential elections. Here’s a breakdown of these states’ rules regarding official vote counts and certification.

Arizona

Polls close at 7pm local time (9pm ET) in Arizona.

Arizona has allowed mail-in voting for more than two decades and Nearly 80% of voters in the state vote by mail. Processing and counting of ballots in the state may begin when ballots are received by election officials, but results may not be released until all precincts have been reported or until one hour after polls close on Election Day, whichever occurs first. Releasing information prematurely is a felony in Arizona.

Christopher Weber, a University of Arizona professor who leads the Arizona Voter Project, said it could take almost two weeks to count every vote in the state’s most populous county.

“The polls are really close together in Arizona and Maricopa (County) is waiting 10 to 13 days for all the votes to be counted,” Weber said. “Like others, I foresee delays. Even though we have predictions in advance, it’s really hard to say. “I don’t remember a time when the election was this close.”

County election officials are responsible for counting votes in federal, state and county elections. website. Early and provisional ballots first undergo signature verification at the county recorder’s office, and counties can begin counting votes once early voting begins. While most early votes will be counted before Election Day, those received on Election Day will be tabulated in the days immediately following.

An automatic recount is triggered if the vote difference between two candidates is 0.5 percent or less. A recount may not be requested in Arizona.

State since 2020 epicenter The result of a campaign among Trump supporters to undermine confidence in the nation’s election systems is leading election officials in the state’s largest county to build a literal fortress to defend the center where votes are being counted.

Georgia

Polls in Georgia will close at 19:00.

Absentee voting in Georgia dropped after the 2020 election, when more than 1.3 million residents took advantage of the option. By the time of the 2022 midterm elections, that number was below 300,000; Advocates blamed the controversial 2021 law, which reduced access to ballot drop boxes, increased restrictions on mail-in ballots and imposed other rules such as banning the delivery of food and drinks to voters without standing in line. -survey workers.

The law was one of a series of changes implemented by the state’s Republican-dominated government over the past four years. In September, the Georgia State Board of Elections approved a requirement that votes be counted by hand after votes are counted by machines. But those and other recently adopted rules were blocked by Georgia judges who concluded they were adopted too close to Election Day.

Emory University professor Andra Gillespie said that if the race is close, it may once again take time to become clear who wins.

“I just want to prepare people in general for the possibility that it could take a few days to count, and just because it takes a few days doesn’t mean people are manipulating the system,” Gillespie said.

Georgia law requires the vote to be certified “no later than 5 p.m. on the Monday following the election,” but this year that deadline has been extended since Monday falls on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. moved to the next dayTuesday, November 12.

The deadline for either candidate to request a recount is two days later, on Thursday, Nov. 14. In Georgia, a losing candidate can petition for a recount if the results are within 0.5% of the total votes cast for the office.

Michigan

The last polls close at 9pm ET in Michigan. (Polls in most of the state are in the eastern time zone and close at 8 p.m., while some western counties are on central time.)

In 2022, nearly 42% of Michigan voters, or 1.9 million, cast absentee ballots; In the 2020 presidential election, this rate was 59%. According to local news site MLive.com.

Oakland University professor David Dulio said it can be difficult to predict when the state’s winner will be known “because elections in Michigan are very decentralized.”

“Our elections are run by 1,600 different local clerks who have to do all of this work and then send it up the chain. This has the potential to slow things down,” Dulio said. He added that Detroit, the state’s largest city, “has been too slow” and Warren, its third-largest city, will not benefit from a relatively new state law that allows clerks to pre-process absentee ballots up to eight days before Election Day. .

County boards of pollsters have up to 14 days after the election to complete their official counts, which are then turned over to the state board. The Secretary of the State Board of Canvassers must announce the winner by November 25.

In the event of a close race with two candidates separated by fewer than 25,000 votes, Michigan law encourages the state board to expedite its review “as soon as practicable.”

If the candidate vote count approaches 2,000, an automatic recount is triggered, but this must be completed within 30 days of the election.

Nevada

Polls close at 7pm PT (10pm ET) in Nevada.

Beginning in 2022, Nevada became one of eight states to hold all-mail elections, where every citizen receives a mail ballot with prepaid postage, but in-person voting at polling places is also permitted.

The state’s board of county commissioners must complete county-level surveys by Nov. 15, 10 days after the election.

It shouldn’t take that long to know who won, said Sondra Cosgrove, a professor at the College of Southern Nevada who runs the nonprofit Vote Nevada.

“We assume we will know by November 9th,” Cosgrove said.

Both candidates can request a recount by November 18, which must begin within one day and be completed within five days, by November 24 at the latest. That’s because on the fourth Tuesday of the month, Nov. 26, the secretary of state is required to meet with Nevada Supreme Court justices to conduct a statewide investigation. The governor then certifies the election.

North Carolina

Polls in North Carolina will close at 19.30 GMT.

This year, both participation and voting may be affected by the devastation of Hurricane Helene. The storm wreaked havoc across large swaths of the state’s western half in late September, displacing residents and destroying infrastructure, including polling places.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections approved emergency measures on Oct. 7 to improve access to voting for residents of 13 counties affected by the storm.

By state law in North Carolina, county boards of elections must meet at 11 a.m. on Nov. 15 to complete their canvass. The State Board of Elections is due to meet on Tuesday, November 26, three weeks after the election. If there is no objection to the results, this board must certify the election after six days.

A mandatory recount is triggered if there is less than a half-percentage difference between two candidates and either candidate formally requests a vote recount. This request must be made by noon on Nov. 17, two days after the county-level vote.

Pennsylvania

Polls in Pennsylvania will close at 20:00.

Under Pennsylvania law, counties cannot begin counting mail-in and absentee ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day. In 2020, that was the beginning of a painstaking process to record more than 2.7 million votes returned by mail. Full returns are processed from 9am on the third day after the election, which is November 8 this year.

The state, seen by many as a must-win state for both candidates, was besieged in 2020 by lawsuits that Trump and his allies tried to block in the hours and days following Mr. Biden’s growing lead — many of which were dismissed or dropped. The polls are closed and the votes are counted.

This year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued an order in August expediting election-related litigation. With the decision, the period for objecting to the lower court decision was shortened from 10 days to three days.

University of Pennsylvania professor Marc Meredith said the vast majority of votes will be counted relatively quickly.

“We will receive our first vote reports from many counties shortly after the polls close. These will generally be all of the mail ballots that people have access to by then,” said Meredith. “Almost all Election Day votes should be reported by early Wednesday morning.”

But if the race is as close as expected, it could be down to slower vote tallying.

“Provisional ballots are typically announced in smaller counties Thursday through Monday in larger counties,” said Meredith.

If the candidates are seen to be separated by less than 0.5 percent in the unofficial elections to be held on November 12, an automatic recount and re-evaluation will be initiated in the state. The recount will need to be completed by November 26.

Wisconsin

Polls close at 8pm CT (9pm ET) in Wisconsin.

Barry Burden, director of the Center for Election Research at the University of Wisconsin, said “usually we start to get a pretty good picture of the state 2 to 2.5 hours after the polls close,” but noted that Milwaukee took longer.

“This is the largest city and has the most ballots, and they also count absentee ballots in a central location,” Burden said. “This will be after midnight, 1 (am) or 2:00.”

Most town and city clerks in Wisconsin are required to submit counts to county clerks by 4 p.m. the day after the election, or if the municipality uses a board of absentee ballot surveyors to collect absentee ballots.

And the county board of pollsters has until Nov. 19 to submit certified vote returns to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Under state law, the commission chairman must certify the election by Dec. 1.

Once the final district’s results are submitted to the commission, the candidate can request a recount if the race is within 1%.

When polls close in other states

(All times local)

• Alabama: 19:00
• Alaska: 20:00
• Arkansas: 19:30
• California: 20:00
• Colorado: 19:00
• Connecticut: 20:00
• In Delaware: 20:00
• District of Columbia: 20.00
• Florida: 19.00
• Hawaii: 19:00
• Idaho: 20.00
• Illinois: 19.00
• Indiana: 18.00
• At Iowa: 20:00
• Kansas: 19:00
• Kentucky: 18.00
• Louisiana: 8 p.m.
• Maine: 20.00
• Maryland: 20.00
• Massachusetts: 20.00
• Minnesota: 20:00
• Mississippi: 7 p.m.
• Missouri: 19:00
• Montana: 20.00
• New Hampshire: 7 p.m., but local municipalities are allowed to stay open later.
• New Jersey: 20.00
• New Mexico: 19:00
• New York: 21.00
• North Dakota: 7pm to 9pm depending on location.
• Ohio: 19:30
• Oklahoma: 19:00
• Oregon: 20:00
• Rhode Island: 20.00
• South Carolina: 19:00
• South Dakota: 19:00
• Tennessee: 8pm ET, 7pm CT.
• Texas: 19:00
• Utah: 20:00
• Vermont: 7 p.m.
• Virginia: 19:00
• Washington: 20.00
• West Virginia: 19:30
• Wyoming: 19:00