Donald Trump is expected to win the first two of seven swing states to be declared, narrowing Kamala Harris’ route to the White House.

Embers And Harris Both need to get the magic 270 votes in the Electoral College to become the next US president.

Trump victories are expected in the key battlegrounds of North Carolina and Georgia.

Losing there could mean any route for Kamala Harris would have to pass through “blue wall” states (Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin), all of which are tough battlegrounds.

Votes are still being counted, and counting is more complex in the US than in the UK, largely due to the size of the country; Varying time differences alone make for a longer process.

Polls started to close at 11pm UK time, with the last one closing at 4am UK time.

In most past elections, the winner was declared around this time.

Last choice: Live updates as results come in

But US election results could take days or even weeks to come out.

even with Donald Trump ahead in early battleground votingFactors such as high turnout and voting by mail could mean candidates change hands later in key states.

Before going into these factors in detail, you need to know how the winner is declared.

How does calling an election work?

When the winner is announced, whether hours or days later, there will be an initially “projected” winner.

This is anticipated because official results are typically certified by state officials only 7-30 days later, depending on the state.

Sky News, through its US partner network NBC, has access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote count results from every state, county and demographic across America.

Large voter turnout

There are approximately 240 million people in the United States who are eligible to vote.

Particularly high voter turnout means vote counting will take longer than usual.

This was a record 158.5 million people voted in 2020; this was the highest attendance since 1900.

It is not yet known how many voters went to the polls on Election Day, but according to the University of Florida Election Lab, more than 77 million Americans had cast ballots by Monday; 42,195,018 were returned in person and 35,173,674 were returned by mail.

In the 2020 presidential elections It took four days for Mr Biden to be declared the winnerBut it wasn’t just about participation.

Many people said this was because more people than usual (about 100 million) were voting by mail due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and those votes were taking longer to be counted.

According to NBC News, election officials are optimistic that the 2024 vote count will go more smoothly without the many challenges the pandemic created for officials in 2020.

Tight racing will lead to longer waits

For months, polls have suggested this will be an extremely tight election; especially in such an environment. several battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania And Wisconsin.

It was such a tight process that most experts refused to predict the outcome and Exit polls did little to separate the candidates.

But overnight, you’ll see Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump predicted winners in some states immediately after polls close.

These are states that are so clearly tilted in one direction that the trailing candidate has a lot of ground to make up as the votes are counted.

But voting in those swing states will be much closer, and a winner won’t be predicted until the NBC News decision desk is certain of the outcome.

That could mean nearly every vote in some states waiting to predict a winner, which could take days.

Important terms to consider as the count progresses

NBC News says there are a number of key milestones between now and reaching a projected winner. Heed these calls:

• It’s too early to call: This could mean two things: There could be a significant lead for one of the candidates, which might not be enough to meet NBC’s statistical standards for scheduling the race; or there is not enough data to determine the margin precisely.
• Too close to call: This means that the final difference between the candidates will be less than five percentage points. NBC News’ decision desk won’t use that designation until it has statistical confidence that the race will be that close.
• leaning down: This occurs when the decision desk is confident that the leading candidate will win, but the statistical threshold required to call the race has not yet been met.
• Predicted winner: NBC News made a projection that one candidate would win.

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How long did it take in the past?

It is common for it to take a few days to know who will be the next president of the United States.

The four-day wait for the 2020 election was an anomaly, but it paled in comparison to the weeks-long 2000 election.

Florida and its 25 Electoral College votes (there are currently 30) would decide the contest between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush, whose brother is Florida governor.

On election night, November 7, before polls closed all over the state, television networks called the state to Gore. Later that evening they changed their tune and said it was too close to call, then called Bush, then reverted back to “too close to call.”

In preliminary voting the day after the election, Bush was ahead by about 1,700 votes in Florida; It was so close that state laws triggered an automatic machine recount. In the first recount, Bush’s lead fell to just 317 votes.

The issue involved Florida’s perforated ballots and hanging envelopes (punched holes that may still have one corner left intact) and how they were counted.

A legal battle ensued that went all the way to the US Supreme Court; In a 5-4 decision along ideological lines, the court ruled that no resolution to the recount issue could be reached by the deadline, thus handing the state over to Bush.

What happens after the winner is announced?

Whether the winner is announced overnight or in the following days, they are not officially chosen until the voter votes are officially cast and counted.

Voters elect them on December 17, they are counted and certified by Congress on January 6, and then the new president will be inaugurated on January 20.

Unlike general elections in the UK, there is a transition period between the election result and the new president taking office.

During the vacancy, Mr. Biden will continue as president until the transfer of power in January, with the winner of the election known as the president-elect.