WASHINGTON — Election Day is here. Americans are casting their votes across the country, and now the waiting begins for officials to announce election results in the 2024 presidential race.
Political analysts say the election is a true toss-up between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, and that seven battleground states will decide the outcome: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
But major questions persist about the timing of the results, the makeup of the electorate, the influx of misinformation — even the possibility of political violence. At the same time, both sides are prepared for a protracted legal battle that could complicate things further.
To see maps of how Maryland, D.C. and Virginia voted in congressional races and statewide ballot initiatives, click here.
Who is winning the 2024 election?
After polls close on Nov. 5, you can use the election map below to follow live results in the 2024 presidential election between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. Use the navigation tools in the map to see results by state and by county.
When will election results start coming in?
Election Day in the United States is now often considered election week as each state follows its own rules and practices for counting ballots — not to mention the legal challenges — that can delay the results. But the truth is, nobody knows how long it will take for the winner to be announced this time.
In 2020, former President Donald Trump sparked a lot of conversation about the timeline of race results, tweeting "The Election should end on November 3rd, not weeks later!" and saying in interviews that counting ballots for weeks after the election was not "by our laws."
Our fact checking team looked into this assertion in 2020 and verified there is no federal election law mandating that we have election results on election night. The only Constitutional requirement comes from the 20th Amendment, which says that a president must be inaugurated by Jan. 20.
So, what deadlines are there?
The rest of the deadlines come from federal law, namely Title 3 of the United Stated Code. It mandates that presidential electors must cast their ballots by the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. This year that's Dec. 16, 2024.
Congress officially counts these votes by Jan. 6.
And yet, in most election years, we know the results earlier. In 2020, Joe Biden was declared the victor over Donald Trump the Saturday following Election Day, on Nov. 7. But in 2016, it was even faster. Trump was called as the projected winner in the wee hours of the morning the Wednesday following the election, on Nov. 9, despite losing the popular vote to Hilary Clinton. Both Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 wins were called before midnight on Election Day.