NORFOLK, Va. — Election Day is here. The final votes have been cast. 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.
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, The Associated Press declared President Joe Biden the winner on Saturday afternoon — four days after polls closed. But even then, The AP called North Carolina for Trump 10 days after Election Day and Georgia for Biden 16 days later after hand recounts.
Four years earlier, the 2016 election was decided just hours after most polls closed. The AP declared Trump the winner on election night at 2:29 a.m. (it was technically Wednesday morning on the East Coast).
This time, both campaigns believe the race is extremely close across the seven swing states that are expected to decide the election, barring a major surprise.
The size of the map and the tightness of the race make it hard to predict when a winner could be declared.